Time and location-based linking of captured medical information with medical records

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods, and computer readable media related to aggregating and associated captured medical data are disclosed. They involve receiving an ID of a piece of equipment in a medical facility, location information for the equipment, and medical information captured by the equipment; and ascertaining a time of information capture by the equipment. They further involve performing a lookup in a data record to determine an identity of a particular patient assigned to a location associated with the location information and performing a lookup in a data structure to identify a medical record of the particular patient. They further involve establishing an association between the medical information captured by the equipment and the medical record to thereby enable access to the medical information through access to the medical record of the particular patient.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on and claims benefit of priority of U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 63/005,348, filed Apr. 5, 2020; U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 63/029,985, filed May 26, 2020; U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 63/036,210 filed Jun. 8, 2020; U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 63/041,976 filed Jun. 21, 2020; U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 63/048,894 filed Jul. 7, 2020; U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 63/079,326 filed Sep. 16, 2020; U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 63/133,579 filed Jan. 4, 2021; andU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/149,565 filed Feb. 15, 2021.The contents of the foregoing application are incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The disclosed embodiments generally relate to systems and methods foranalysis of videos of surgical procedures.

Background Information

When performing a surgical procedure, it may be beneficial toautomatically identify surgical planes or review video of previous stepsor expected future steps for a surgeon to review during an ongoingsurgical procedure. Furthermore, there is a need to analyze videos toautomatically populate a post-operative report, or to view statisticaldata with links to surgical videos that substantiate the statistic. Inaddition, there is a need to identify patient data derived from surgicalequipment location data and to assign surgical teams to prospectivesurgeries.

Therefore, there is a need for unconventional approaches thatefficiently and effectively analyze surgical videos to enable a medicalprofessional to receive support during an ongoing surgical procedure,view performance related statistics and data, and to facilitatescheduling and patient-data collection.

SUMMARY

Systems, methods, and computer readable media related to statisticalanalysis across surgical videos are disclosed. The methods may includereceiving a plurality of video frames from a plurality of surgicalvideos of a plurality of surgical procedures performed by a specificmedical professional, wherein each surgical video is associated with adiffering patient. The methods may further disclose accessing a set ofsurgical event-related categories, wherein each surgical event-relatedcategory is denoted by a differing category indicator and analyzing thereceived plurality of video frames of each surgical video to identify aplurality of surgical events in each of the plurality of surgicalvideos, and wherein each of the identified plurality of surgical eventsin each of the plurality of surgical videos is defined by a differingsubgroup of frames.

The method may further include assigning each differing subgroup offrames to one of the surgical event-related categories to therebyinterrelate subgroups of frames from differing surgical procedures underan associated common surgical event-related category. The subgroup offrames may be associated with each surgical event-related category toderive at least one statistic associated with each subgroup of frames.Statistics may then be aggregated within each category of surgicalevents and displayed together with the surgical event-related categoriesfor selection. Finally, upon receiving a selection of a particularsurgical event-related category at least part of the frames assigned tothe particular surgical event-related category are presented.

Systems, methods, and computer readable media related to video detectionof surgical instrument deviations from a surgical plane are disclosed.Some disclosed embodiments may include receiving a plurality of videoframes from a surgical video feed and analyzing at least some of theplurality of video frames to identify a surgical instrument therein. Theembodiments may further involve evaluating the plurality of video frameswith the identified surgical instrument therein to ascertain aninterface area corresponding to a location of an interaction between theidentified surgical instrument and tissue and accessing stored datacharacterizing a surgical plane corresponding to the location of theinteraction.

The stored data may be used to determine whether the interface area isoutside of the surgical plane and outputting an out-of-surgical planesignal indicating a deviation from the surgical plane by the surgicalinstrument.

Systems, methods, and computer readable media related to providingintraoperative video review are disclosed. They may involve receiving aplurality of video frames from a surgical video of an ongoing surgicalprocedure and accessing stored data based on prior surgical procedures.They may also involve predicting based on the plurality of video framesand the stored data relating to prior surgical procedures, at least oneexpected future event in the ongoing surgical procedure. Disclosedembodiments may also involve generating for intra-surgical presentation,at least one option to review at least one surgical video clipassociated with the expected future event in the surgical procedure.

In addition, disclosed embodiments may involve accessing a datastructure containing the at least one surgical video clip and outputtingfor intra-surgical presentation, the at least one surgical video clipassociated with the expected future event.

Consistent with disclosed embodiments, systems, methods, computerreadable media, and apparatus related to analyzing surgical proceduresand assessing surgical competency of subjects are disclosed. Disclosedembodiments may include receiving a plurality of video frames associatedwith at least one surgical procedure and accessing stored data based onprior surgical procedures. Disclosed embodiments may further includeprocessing, using the stored data, the plurality of video frames toassess at least one of tissue handling, economy of motion, depthperception and surgical procedure flow in the plurality of video frames.Based on the assessment of at least one of tissue handling, economy ofmotion, depth perception and surgical procedure flow, acompetency-related score for a subject may be generated. Disclosedembodiments may also include selecting, from the plurality of videoframes, at least one video clip from which the competency score wasderived and outputting the score, and presenting in association with theat least one score, a link to the at least one video clip.

Disclosed systems, methods, and computer readable media may relate toaggregating and analyzing equipment, time, and space data to updatemedical records. They may involve receiving a plurality of video framesfrom a surgical video of an ongoing surgical procedure and accessingstored data based on prior surgical procedures. They may also involvepredicting based on the plurality of video frames and the stored datarelating to prior surgical procedures, at least one expected futureevent in the ongoing surgical procedure. Disclosed embodiments may alsoinvolve generating for intra-surgical presentation, at least one optionto review at least one surgical video clip associated with the expectedfuture event in the surgical procedure.

In addition, disclosed embodiments may involve accessing a datastructure containing the at least one surgical video clip and outputtingfor intra-surgical presentation, the at least one surgical video clipassociated with the expected future event.

Systems, methods, and computer readable media related to assigningsurgical teams to prospective surgeries are disclosed. They may involveanalyzing a plurality of video frames of prior surgical proceduresperformed by a particular surgeon to ascertain a skill level of theparticular surgeon and accessing a data structure containing patientcharacteristics associated with the prior surgical procedures. They mayalso involve accessing a surgical schedule including a plurality ofprospective surgical procedures overlapping in time and obtainingpatient characteristics associated with the prospective surgicalprocedures. Disclosed embodiments may also involve analyzing theplurality of video frames of prior surgical procedures to ascertain anexpected amount of time for the particular surgeon to perform at leastone particular prospective surgical procedure from among the pluralityof prospective surgical procedures.

In addition, disclosed embodiments may involve determining requirementsfor the at least one particular prospective surgical procedure, therequirements including a required skill level of a participating surgeonbased on the patient characteristics associated with the at least oneparticular prospective surgical procedure and an expected amount of timeto perform the at least one particular prospective surgical procedure.They may also involve determining whether the particular surgeon meetsthe requirements of the at least one particular prospective surgicalprocedure based on the skill level of the particular surgeon and theexpected amount of time for the particular surgeon to perform the atleast one particular prospective surgical procedure. Disclosedembodiments may involve outputting an indicator that the particularsurgeon meets the requirements of the at least one particularprospective surgical procedure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an example operating room, consistentwith disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an exemplary camera arrangement,consistent with disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an example of a surgical instrument,that may be used in connection with disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a network diagram of an exemplary system for managing variousdata collected during a surgical procedure, and for controlling varioussensors consistent with disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a table view of an exemplary data structure consistent withdisclosed embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a table view of an exemplary data structure consistent withthe disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of an example user interface fordisplaying and aggregating statistical data associated with surgicalvideos.

FIG. 8A is a graphical illustration of an exemplary machine-learningmodel, consistent with disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 8B shows an exemplary input for a machine-learning model,consistent with disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for videodetection of instrumental deviations from a surgical plane in a surgicalprocedure, consistent with disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 10 is a schematic illustration of an exemplary sequence of events,consistent with disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 11 shows an exemplary comparison of a sequence of events,consistent with disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 12 is an exemplary graph showing a relationship betweenintraoperative events and outcomes, consistent with disclosedembodiments.

FIG. 13 is an exemplary probability distribution graph for differentevents with and without the presence of an intraoperative event,consistent with disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 14 shows exemplary probability distribution graphs for differentevents, consistent with disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 15 shows exemplary probability distribution graphs for differentevents, as a function of event characteristics, consistent withdisclosed embodiments.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for providingintraoperative video review for an ongoing surgical procedure,consistent with disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 17 is a depiction of an exemplary interface for a system forassessing surgical competency of a subject, consistent with disclosedembodiments.

FIG. 18 is a depiction of an exemplary interface for viewing a video,consistent with disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process for analyzing asurgical procedure and assessing surgical competency of a subject,consistent with disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 20 shows an exemplary plot of data of historic completion timesconsistent with disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 21 is an exemplary surgical schedule, consistent with disclosedembodiments.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary process foraggregating and analyzing equipment, time, and space data to updatemedical records, consistent with disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 23 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary process forassigning surgical teams to prospective surgical procedures, consistentwith disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 24A is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process forstatistical analysis across surgical videos consistent with disclosedembodiments.

FIG. 24B is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process forstatistical analysis of other medical professionals across surgicalvideos consistent with disclosed embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Unless specifically stated otherwise, as apparent from the followingdescription, throughout the specification discussions utilizing termssuch as “processing”, “calculating”, “computing”, “determining”,“generating”, “setting”, “configuring”, “selecting”, “defining”,“applying”, “obtaining”, “monitoring”, “providing”, “identifying”,“segmenting”, “classifying”, “analyzing”, “associating”, “extracting”,“storing”, “receiving”, “transmitting”, or the like, include actionsand/or processes of a computer that manipulate and/or transform datainto other data, the data represented as physical quantities, forexample such as electronic quantities, and/or the data representingphysical objects. The terms “computer”, “processor”, “controller”,“processing unit”, “computing unit”, and “processing module” should beexpansively construed to cover any kind of electronic device, componentor unit with data processing capabilities, including, by way ofnon-limiting example, a personal computer, a wearable computer, smartglasses, a tablet, a smartphone, a server, a computing system, a cloudcomputing platform, a communication device, a processor (for example,digital signal processor (DSP), an image signal processor (ISR), amicrocontroller, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC), a central processing unit (CPA), agraphics processing unit (GPU), a visual processing unit (VPU), and soon), possibly with embedded memory, a single core processor, a multicore processor, a core within a processor, any other electroniccomputing device, or any combination of the above.

The operations in accordance with the teachings herein may be performedby a computer specially constructed or programmed to perform thedescribed functions.

As used herein, the phrase “for example,” “such as”, “for instance” andvariants thereof describe non-limiting embodiments of the presentlydisclosed subject matter. Reference in the specification to features of“embodiments” “one case”, “some cases”, “other cases” or variantsthereof means that a particular feature, structure or characteristicdescribed may be included in at least one embodiment of the presentlydisclosed subject matter. Thus, the appearance of such terms does notnecessarily refer to the same embodiment(s). As used herein, the term“and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of theassociated listed items.

Features of the presently disclosed subject matter, are, for brevity,described in the context of particular embodiments. However, it is to beunderstood that features described in connection with one embodiment arealso applicable to other embodiments. Likewise, features described inthe context of a specific combination may be considered separateembodiments, either alone or in a context other than the specificcombination.

In embodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter, one or morestages illustrated in the figures may be executed in a different orderand/or one or more groups of stages may be executed simultaneously andvice versa. The figures illustrate a general schematic of the systemarchitecture in accordance embodiments of the presently disclosedsubject matter. Each module in the figures can be made up of anycombination of software, hardware and/or firmware that performs thefunctions as defined and explained herein. The modules in the figuresmay be centralized in one location or dispersed over more than onelocation.

Examples of the presently disclosed subject matter are not limited inapplication to the details of construction and the arrangement of thecomponents set forth in the following description or illustrated in thedrawings. The subject matter may be practiced or carried out in variousways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminologyemployed herein is for the purpose of description and should not beregarded as limiting.

In this document, an element of a drawing that is not described withinthe scope of the drawing and is labeled with a numeral that has beendescribed in a previous drawing may have the same use and description asin the previous drawings.

The drawings in this document may not be to any scale. Different figuresmay use different scales and different scales can be used even withinthe same drawing, for example different scales for different views ofthe same object or different scales for the two adjacent objects.

Consistent with disclosed embodiments, “at least one processor” mayconstitute any physical device or group of devices having electriccircuitry that performs a logic operation on an input or inputs. Forexample, the at least one processor may include one or more integratedcircuits (IC), including application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC),microchips, microcontrollers, microprocessors, all or part of a centralprocessing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit (GPU), digital signalprocessor (DSP), field-programmable gate array (FPGA), server, virtualserver, or other circuits suitable for executing instructions orperforming logic operations. The instructions executed by at least oneprocessor may, for example, be pre-loaded into a memory integrated withor embedded into the controller or may be stored in a separate memory.The memory may include a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Read-Only Memory(ROM), a hard disk, an optical disk, a magnetic medium, a flash memory,other permanent, fixed, or volatile memory, or any other mechanismcapable of storing instructions. In some embodiments, the at least oneprocessor may include more than one processor. Each processor may have asimilar construction or the processors may be of differing constructionsthat are electrically connected or disconnected from each other. Forexample, the processors may be separate circuits or integrated in asingle circuit. When more than one processor is used, the processors maybe configured to operate independently or collaboratively. Theprocessors may be coupled electrically, magnetically, optically,acoustically, mechanically or by other means that permit them tointeract.

Disclosed embodiments may include and/or access a data structure. A datastructure consistent with the present disclosure may include anycollection of data values and relationships among them. The data may bestored linearly, horizontally, hierarchically, relationally,non-relationally, unidimensionally, multidimensionally, operationally,in an ordered manner, in an unordered manner, in an object-orientedmanner, in a centralized manner, in a decentralized manner, in adistributed manner, in a custom manner, or in any manner enabling dataaccess. By way of non-limiting examples, data structures may include anarray, an associative array, a linked list, a binary tree, a balancedtree, a heap, a stack, a queue, a set, a hash table, a record, a taggedunion, ER model, and a graph. For example, a data structure may includean XML database, an RDBMS database, an SQL database or NoSQLalternatives for data storage/search such as, for example, MongoDB,Redis, Couchbase, Datastax Enterprise Graph, Elastic Search, Splunk,Solr, Cassandra, Amazon DynamoDB, Scylla, HBase, and Neo4J. A datastructure may be a component of the disclosed system or a remotecomputing component (e.g., a cloud-based data structure). Data in thedata structure may be stored in contiguous or non-contiguous memory.Moreover, a data structure, as used herein, does not require informationto be co-located. It may be distributed across multiple servers, forexample, that may be owned or operated by the same or differententities. Thus, the term “data structure” as used herein in the singularis inclusive of plural data structures.

Analyzing the received video frames to identify surgical events mayinvolve any form of electronic analysis using a computing device. Insome embodiments, computer image analysis may include using one or moreimage recognition algorithms to identify features of one or more framesof the video footage. Computer image analysis may be performed onindividual frames, or may be performed across multiple frames, forexample, to detect motion or other changes between frames. In someembodiments, computer image analysis may include object detectionalgorithms, such as Viola-Jones object detection, scale-invariantfeature transform (SIFT), histogram of oriented gradients (HOG)features, convolutional neural networks (CNN), or any other forms ofobject detection algorithms. Other example algorithms may include videotracking algorithms, motion detection algorithms, feature detectionalgorithms, color-based detection algorithms, texture-based detectionalgorithms, shape based detection algorithms, boosting based detectionalgorithms, face detection algorithms, biometric recognition algorithms,or any other suitable algorithm for analyzing video frames.

In some embodiments, the computer image analysis may include using aneural network model trained using example video frames includingpreviously identified surgical events to thereby identify a similarsurgical event in a set of frames. In other words, frames of one or morevideos that are known to be associated with a particular surgical eventmay be used to train a neural network model. The trained neural networkmodel may therefore be used to identify whether one or more video framesare also associated with the surgical event. In some embodiments, thedisclosed methods may further include updating the trained neuralnetwork model based on at least one of the analyzed frames. Accordingly,by identifying surgical events in the plurality of surgical videos usingcomputer image analysis, disclosed embodiments create efficiencies indata processing and video classification, reduces costs throughautomation, and improves accuracy in data classification.

Machine learning algorithms (also referred to artificial intelligence)may be employed for the purposes of analyzing the video to identifysurgical events. Such algorithms be trained using training examples,such as described below. Some non-limiting examples of such machinelearning algorithms may include classification algorithms, dataregressions algorithms, image segmentation algorithms, visual detectionalgorithms (such as object detectors, face detectors, person detectors,motion detectors, edge detectors, etc.), visual recognition algorithms(such as face recognition, person recognition, object recognition,etc.), speech recognition algorithms, mathematical embedding algorithms,natural language processing algorithms, support vector machines, randomforests, nearest neighbors algorithms, deep learning algorithms,artificial neural network algorithms, convolutional neural networkalgorithms, recursive neural network algorithms, linear machine learningmodels, non-linear machine learning models, ensemble algorithms, and soforth. For example, a trained machine learning algorithm may comprise aninference model, such as a predictive model, a classification model, aregression model, a clustering model, a segmentation model, anartificial neural network (such as a deep neural network, aconvolutional neural network, a recursive neural network, etc.), arandom forest, a support vector machine, and so forth. In some examples,the training examples may include example inputs together with thedesired outputs corresponding to the example inputs. Further, in someexamples, training machine learning algorithms using the trainingexamples may generate a trained machine learning algorithm, and thetrained machine learning algorithm may be used to estimate outputs forinputs not included in the training examples. In some examples,engineers, scientists, processes and machines that train machinelearning algorithms may further use validation examples and/or testexamples. For example, validation examples and/or test examples mayinclude example inputs together with the desired outputs correspondingto the example inputs, a trained machine learning algorithm and/or anintermediately trained machine learning algorithm may be used toestimate outputs for the example inputs of the validation examplesand/or test examples, the estimated outputs may be compared to thecorresponding desired outputs, and the trained machine learningalgorithm and/or the intermediately trained machine learning algorithmmay be evaluated based on a result of the comparison. In some examples,a machine learning algorithm may have parameters and hyper parameters,where the hyper parameters may be set manually by a person orautomatically by a process external to the machine learning algorithm(such as a hyper parameter search algorithm), and the parameters of themachine learning algorithm may be set by the machine learning algorithmaccording to the training examples. In some implementations, thehyper-parameters may be set according to the training examples and thevalidation examples, and the parameters may be set according to thetraining examples and the selected hyper-parameters.

In some embodiments, trained machine learning algorithms (e.g.,artificial intelligence algorithms) may be used to analyze inputs andgenerate outputs, for example in the cases described below. In someexamples, a trained machine learning algorithm may be used as aninference model that when provided with an input generates an inferredoutput. For example, a trained machine learning algorithm may include aclassification algorithm, the input may include a sample, and theinferred output may include a classification of the sample (such as aninferred label, an inferred tag, and so forth). In another example, atrained machine learning algorithm may include a regression model, theinput may include a sample, and the inferred output may include aninferred value for the sample. In yet another example, a trained machinelearning algorithm may include a clustering model, the input may includea sample, and the inferred output may include an assignment of thesample to at least one cluster. In an additional example, a trainedmachine learning algorithm may include a classification algorithm, theinput may include an image, and the inferred output may include aclassification of an item depicted in the image. In yet another example,a trained machine learning algorithm may include a regression model, theinput may include an image, and the inferred output may include aninferred value for an item depicted in the image. In an additionalexample, a trained machine learning algorithm may include an imagesegmentation model, the input may include an image, and the inferredoutput may include a segmentation of the image. In yet another example,a trained machine learning algorithm may include an object detector, theinput may include an image, and the inferred output may include one ormore detected objects in the image and/or one or more locations ofobjects within the image. In some examples, the trained machine learningalgorithm may include one or more formulas and/or one or more functionsand/or one or more rules and/or one or more procedures, the input may beused as input to the formulas and/or functions and/or rules and/orprocedures, and the inferred output may be based on the outputs of theformulas and/or functions and/or rules and/or procedures (for example,selecting one of the outputs of the formulas and/or functions and/orrules and/or procedures, using a statistical measure of the outputs ofthe formulas and/or functions and/or rules and/or procedures, and soforth).

In some embodiments, artificial neural networks may be configured toanalyze inputs and generate corresponding outputs. Some non-limitingexamples of such artificial neural networks may comprise shallowartificial neural networks, deep artificial neural networks, feedbackartificial neural networks, feed forward artificial neural networks,autoencoder artificial neural networks, probabilistic artificial neuralnetworks, time delay artificial neural networks, convolutionalartificial neural networks, recurrent artificial neural networks, longshort term memory artificial neural networks, and so forth. In someexamples, an artificial neural network may be configured manually. Forexample, a structure of the artificial neural network may be selectedmanually, a type of an artificial neuron of the artificial neuralnetwork may be selected manually, a parameter of the artificial neuralnetwork (such as a parameter of an artificial neuron of the artificialneural network) may be selected manually, and so forth. In someexamples, an artificial neural network may be configured using a machinelearning algorithm. For example, a user may select hyper-parameters forthe artificial neural network and/or the machine learning algorithm, andthe machine learning algorithm may use the hyper-parameters and trainingexamples to determine the parameters of the artificial neural network,for example using back propagation, using gradient descent, usingstochastic gradient descent, using mini-batch gradient descent, and soforth. In some examples, an artificial neural network may be createdfrom two or more other artificial neural networks by combining the twoor more other artificial neural networks into a single artificial neuralnetwork.

In some embodiments, analyzing image data (as described herein) mayinclude analyzing the image data to obtain a preprocessed image data,and subsequently analyzing the image data and/or the preprocessed imagedata to obtain the desired outcome. Some non-limiting examples of suchimage data may include one or more images, videos, frames, footages, 2Dimage data, 3D image data, and so forth. One of ordinary skill in theart will recognize that the followings are examples, and that the imagedata may be preprocessed using other kinds of preprocessing methods. Insome examples, the image data may be preprocessed by transforming theimage data using a transformation function to obtain a transformed imagedata, and the preprocessed image data may include the transformed imagedata. For example, the transformed image data may include one or moreconvolutions of the image data. For example, the transformation functionmay comprise one or more image filters, such as low-pass filters,high-pass filters, band-pass filters, all-pass filters, and so forth. Insome examples, the transformation function may include a nonlinearfunction. In some examples, the image data may be preprocessed bysmoothing at least parts of the image data, for example using Gaussianconvolution, using a median filter, and so forth. In some examples, theimage data may be preprocessed to obtain a different representation ofthe image data. For example, the preprocessed image data may include: arepresentation of at least part of the image data in a frequency domain;a Discrete Fourier Transform of at least part of the image data; aDiscrete Wavelet Transform of at least part of the image data; atime/frequency representation of at least part of the image data; arepresentation of at least part of the image data in a lower dimension;a lossy representation of at least part of the image data; a losslessrepresentation of at least part of the image data; a time ordered seriesof any of the above; any combination of the above; and so forth. In someexamples, the image data may be preprocessed to extract edges, and thepreprocessed image data may include information based on and/or relatedto the extracted edges. In some examples, the image data may bepreprocessed to extract image features from the image data. Somenon-limiting examples of such image features may comprise informationbased on and/or related to: edges; corners; blobs; ridges; ScaleInvariant Feature Transform (SIFT) features; temporal features; and soforth.

In some embodiments, analyzing image data (for example, by the methods,steps and processor function described herein) may include analyzing theimage data and/or the preprocessed image data using one or more rules,functions, procedures, artificial neural networks, object detectionalgorithms, anatomical detection algorithms, visual event detectionalgorithms, action detection algorithms, motion detection algorithms,background subtraction algorithms, inference models, and so forth. Somenon-limiting examples of such inference models may include: an inferencemodel preprogrammed manually; a classification model; a regressionmodel; a result of training algorithms, such as machine learningalgorithms and/or deep learning algorithms, on training examples, wherethe training examples may include examples of data instances, and insome cases, a data instance may be labeled with a corresponding desiredlabel and/or result; and so forth.

In some embodiments, analyzing image data (for example, by the methods,steps and processor function described herein) may include analyzingpixels, voxels, point cloud, range data, etc. included in the imagedata.

Aspects of this disclosure may relate to surgical procedures performedin operating rooms. FIG. 1 shows an example operating room 101,consistent with disclosed embodiments. A patient 143 is illustrated onan operating table 141. Room 101 may include audio sensors, video/imagesensors, chemical sensors, and other sensors, as well as various lightsources (e.g., light source 119 is shown in FIG. 1) for facilitating thecapture of video and audio data, as well as data from other sensors,during the surgical procedure. For example, room 101 may include one ormore microphones (e.g., audio sensor 111, as shown in FIG. 1), severalcameras (e.g., overhead cameras 115, 121, and 123, and a tablesidecamera 125) for capturing video/image data during surgery. While some ofthe cameras (e.g., cameras 115, 123 and 125) may capture video/imagedata of operating table 141 (e.g., the cameras may capture thevideo/image data at a location 127 of a body of patient 143 on which asurgical procedure is performed), camera 121 may capture video/imagedata of other parts of operating room 101. For instance, camera 121 maycapture video/image data of a surgeon 131 performing the surgery. Insome cases, cameras may capture video/image data associated withsurgical team personnel, such as an anesthesiologist, nurses, surgicaltech and the like located in operating room 101. Additionally, operatingroom cameras may capture video/image data associated with medicalequipment located in the room.

In various embodiments, one or more of cameras 115, 121, 123 and 125 maybe movable. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, camera 115 may be rotatedas indicated by arrows 135A showing a pitch direction, and arrows 135Bshowing a yaw direction for camera 115. In various embodiments, pitchand yaw angles of cameras (e.g., camera 115) may be electronicallycontrolled such that camera 115 points at a region-of-interest (ROI), ofwhich video/image data needs to be captured. For example, camera 115 maybe configured to track a surgical instrument (also referred to as asurgical tool) within location 127, an anatomical structure, a hand ofsurgeon 131, an incision, a movement of anatomical structure, and thelike. In various embodiments, camera 115 may be equipped with a laser137 (e.g., an infrared laser) for precision tracking. In some cases,camera 115 may be tracked automatically via a computer-based cameracontrol application that uses an image recognition algorithm forpositioning the camera to capture video/image data of a ROI. Forexample, the camera control application may identify an anatomicalstructure, identify a surgical tool, hand of a surgeon, bleeding,motion, and the like at a particular location within the anatomicalstructure, and track that location with camera 115 by rotating camera115 by appropriate yaw and pitch angles. In some embodiments, the cameracontrol application may control positions (i.e., yaw and pitch angles)of various cameras 115, 121, 123 and 125 to capture video/image datefrom different ROIs during a surgical procedure. Additionally oralternatively, a human operator may control the position of variouscameras 115, 121, 123 and 125, and/or the human operator may supervisethe camera control application in controlling the position of thecameras.

Cameras 115, 121, 123 and 125 may further include zoom lenses forfocusing in on and magnifying one or more ROIs. In an exampleembodiment, camera 115 may include a zoom lens 138 for zooming closelyto a ROI (e.g., a surgical tool in the proximity of an anatomicalstructure). Camera 121 may include a zoom lens 139 for capturingvideo/image data from a larger area around the ROI. For example, camera121 may capture video/image data for the entire location 127. In someembodiments, video/image data obtained from camera 121 may be analyzedto identify a ROI during the surgical procedure, and the camera controlapplication may be configured to cause camera 115 to zoom towards theROI identified by camera 121.

In various embodiments, the camera control application may be configuredto coordinate the position, focus, and magnification of various camerasduring a surgical procedure. For example, the camera control applicationmay direct camera 115 to track an anatomical structure and may directcamera 121 and 125 to track a surgical instrument. Cameras 121 and 125may track the same ROI (e.g., a surgical instrument) from different viewangles. For example, video/image data obtained from different viewangles may be used to determine the position of the surgical instrumentrelative to a surface of the anatomical structure, to determine acondition of an anatomical structure, to determine pressure applied toan anatomical structure, or to determine any other information wheremultiple viewing angles may be beneficial. By way of another example,bleeding may be detected by one camera, and one or more other camerasmay be used to identify the source of the bleeding.

In various embodiments, control of position, orientation, settings,and/or zoom of cameras 115, 121, 123 and 125 may be rule-based andfollow an algorithm developed for a given surgical procedure. Forexample, the camera control application may be configured to directcamera 115 to track a surgical instrument, to direct camera 121 tolocation 127, to direct camera 123 to track the motion of the surgeon'shands, and to direct camera 125 to an anatomical structure. Thealgorithm may include any suitable logical statements determiningposition, orientation, settings and/or zoom for cameras 115, 121, 123and 125 depending on various events during the surgical procedure. Forexample, the algorithm may direct at least one camera to a region of ananatomical structure that develops bleeding during the procedure. Somenon-limiting examples of settings of cameras 115, 121, 123 and 125 thatmay be controlled (for example by the camera control application) mayinclude image pixel resolution, frame rate, image and/or colorcorrection and/or enhancement algorithms, zoom, position, orientation,aspect ratio, shutter speed, aperture, focus, and so forth.

In various cases, when a camera (e.g., camera 115) tracks a moving ordeforming object (e.g., when camera 115 tracks a moving surgicalinstrument, or a moving/pulsating anatomical structure), a cameracontrol application may determine a maximum allowable zoom for camera115, such that the moving or deforming object does not escape a field ofview of the camera. In an example embodiment, the camera controlapplication may initially select the first zoom for camera 115, evaluatewhether the moving or deforming object escapes the field of view of thecamera, and adjust the zoom of the camera as necessary to prevent themoving or deforming object from escaping the field of view of thecamera. In various embodiments, the camera zoom may be readjusted basedon a direction and a speed of the moving or deforming object.

In various embodiments, one or more image sensors may include movingcameras 115, 121, 123 and 125. Cameras 115, 121, 123 and 125 may be usedfor determining sizes of anatomical structures and determining distancesbetween different ROIs, for example using triangulation. For example,FIG. 2 shows exemplary cameras 115 (115 View 1, as shown in FIG. 2) and121 supported by movable elements such that the distance between the twocameras is D1, as shown in FIG. 2. Both cameras point at ROI 223. Byknowing the positions of cameras 115 and 121 and the direction of anobject relative to the cameras (e.g., by knowing angles A1 and A2, asshown in FIG. 2, for example based on correspondences between pixelsdepicting the same object or the same real-world point in the imagescaptured by 115 and 121), distances D2 and D3 may be calculated using,for example, the law of sines and the known distance between the twocameras D1. In an example embodiment, when camera 115 (115, View 2)rotates by a small angle A3 (measured in radians), to point at ROI 225,the distance between ROI 223 and ROI 225 may be approximated (for smallangles A3) by A3D2. More accuracy may be obtained using anothertriangulation process. Knowing distances between ROI 223 and 225 allowsdetermining a length scale for an anatomical structure. Further,distances between various points of the anatomical structure, anddistances from the various points to one or more cameras may be measuredto determine a point-cloud representing a surface of the anatomicalstructure. Such a point-cloud may be used to reconstruct athree-dimensional model of the anatomical structure. Further, distancesbetween one or more surgical instruments and different points of theanatomical structure may be measured to determine proper locations ofthe one or more surgical instruments in the proximity of the anatomicalstructure. In some other examples, one or more of cameras 115, 121, 123and 125 may include a 3D camera (such as a stereo camera, an activestereo camera, a Time of Flight camera, a Light Detector and Rangingcamera, etc.), and actual and/or relative locations and/or sizes ofobjects within operating room 101, and/or actual distances betweenobjects, may be determined based on the 3D information captured by the3D camera.

Returning to FIG. 1, light sources (e.g., light source 119) may also bemovable to track one or more ROIs. In an example embodiment, lightsource 119 may be rotated by yaw and pitch angles, and in some cases,may extend towards to or away from a ROI (e.g., location 127). In somecases, light source 119 may include one or more optical elements (e.g.,lenses, flat or curved mirrors, and the like) to focus light on the ROI.In some cases, light source 119 may be configured to control the colorof the light (e.g., the color of the light may include different typesof white light, a light with a selected spectrum, and the like). In anexample embodiment, light 119 may be configured such that the spectrumand intensity of the light may vary over a surface of an anatomicstructure illuminated by the light. For example, in some cases, light119 may include infrared wavelengths which may result in warming of atleast some portions of the surface of the anatomic structure.

In some embodiments, the operating room may include sensors embedded invarious components depicted or not depicted in FIG. 1. Examples of suchsensors may include: audio sensors; image sensors; motion sensors;positioning sensors; chemical sensors; temperature sensors; barometers;pressure sensors; proximity sensors; electrical impedance sensors;electrical voltage sensors; electrical current sensors; or any otherdetector capable of providing feedback on the environment or a surgicalprocedure, including, for example, any kind of medical or physiologicalsensor configured to monitor patient 143.

In some embodiments, the operating room may include a wirelesstransmitter 145, capable of transmitting a location identifier, asillustrated in FIG. 1. The wireless transmitter may communicate withother elements in the operating room through wireless signals, such asradio communication including Bluetooth or Wireless USB, Wi-Fi, LPWAN,RFID, or other suitable wireless communication methods. In someembodiments, wireless transmitter 145 may be a receiver or transceiver.Accordingly, wireless transmitter 145 may be configured to receivesignals for the purpose of determining a location of elements in theoperating room. Although FIG. 1 depicts only one wireless transmitter145, embodiments may include additional wireless transmitters. Forexample, a wireless transmitter may be associated with a particularpatient, a particular doctor, an operating room, a piece of equipment,or any other object, place, or person. Wireless transmitter 145 may beattached to equipment, a room, or a person. For example, wirelesstransmitter 145 may be a wearable device or a component of a wearabledevice. In some embodiments, wireless transmitter 145 may be mounted toa wall or a ceiling. Generally, wireless transmitter 145 may be astandalone device or may be a component of device. For example, wirelesstransmitter 145 may be a component of a piece of medical equipment, acamera, a personal mobile device, or another system associated with asurgery. Additionally or alternatively, wireless transmitter 145 may bean active or a passive wireless tag, a wireless location beacon, and soforth.

In some embodiments, audio sensor 111 may include one or more audiosensors configured to capture audio by converting sounds to digitalinformation (e.g., audio sensors 121).

In various embodiments, temperature sensors may include infrared cameras(e.g., an infrared camera 117 is shown in FIG. 1) for thermal imaging.Infrared camera 117 may allow measurements of the surface temperature ofan anatomic structure at different points of the structure. Similar tovisible cameras D115, 121, 123 and 125, infrared camera 117 may berotated using yaw or pitch angles. Additionally or alternatively, camera117 may include an image sensor configured to capture image from anylight spectrum, include infrared image sensor, hyper-spectral imagesensors, and so forth.

FIG. 1 includes a display screen 113 that may show views from differentcameras 115, 121, 123 and 125, as well as other information. Forexample, display screen 113 may show a zoomed-in image of a tip of asurgical instrument and a surrounding tissue of an anatomical structurein proximity to the surgical instrument.

FIG. 3 shows an example embodiment of a surgical instrument 301 that mayinclude multiple sensors and light-emitting sources. Consistent with thepresent embodiments, a surgical instrument may refer to a medicaldevice, a medical instrument, an electrical or mechanical tool, asurgical tool, a diagnostic tool, and/or any other instrumentality thatmay be used during a surgery. As shown, instrument 301 may includecameras 311A and 311B, light sources 313A and 313B as well as tips 323Aand 323B for contacting tissue 331. Cameras 311A and 311B may beconnected via data connection 319A and 319B to a data transmittingdevice 321. In an example embodiment, device 321 may transmit data to adata-receiving device using a wireless communication or using a wiredcommunication. In an example embodiment, device 321 may use WiFi,Bluetooth, NFC communication, inductive communication, or any othersuitable wireless communication for transmitting data to adata-receiving device. The data-receiving device may include any form ofreceiver capable of receiving data transmissions. Additionally oralternatively, device 321 may use optical signals to transmit data tothe data-receiving device (e.g., device 321 may use optical signalstransmitted through the air or via optical fiber). In some embodiments,device 301 may include local memory for storing at least some of thedata received from sensors 311A and 311B. Additionally, device 301 mayinclude a processor for compressing video/image data before transmittingthe data to the data-receiving device.

In various embodiments, for example when device 301 is wireless, it mayinclude an internal power source (e.g., a battery, a rechargeablebattery, and the like) and/or a port for recharging the battery, anindicator for indicating the amount of power remaining for the powersource, and one or more input controls (e.g., buttons) for controllingthe operation of device 301. In some embodiments, control of device 301may be accomplished using an external device (e.g., a smartphone,tablet, smart glasses) communicating with device 301 via any suitableconnection (e.g., WiFi, Bluetooth, and the like). In an exampleembodiment, input controls for device 301 may be used to control variousparameters of sensors or light sources. For example, input controls maybe used to dim/brighten light sources 313A and 313B, move the lightsources for cases when the light sources may be moved (e.g., the lightsources may be rotated using yaw and pitch angles), control the color ofthe light sources, control the focusing of the light sources, controlthe motion of cameras 311A and 311B for cases when the cameras may bemoved (e.g., the cameras may be rotated using yaw and pitch angles),control the zoom and/or capturing parameters for cameras 311A and 311B,or change any other suitable parameters of cameras 311A-311B and lightsources 313A-313B. It should be noted camera 311A may have a first setof parameters and camera 311B may have a second set of parameters thatis different from the first set of parameters, and these parameters maybe selected using appropriate input controls. Similarly, light source313A may have a first set of parameters and light source 313B may have asecond set of parameters that is different from the first set ofparameters, and these parameters may be selected using appropriate inputcontrols.

Additionally, instrument 301 may be configured to measure data relatedto various properties of tissue 331 via tips 323A and 323B and transmitthe measured data to device 321. For example, tips 323A and 323B may beused to measure the electrical resistance and/or impedance of tissue331, the temperature of tissue 331, mechanical properties of tissue 331and the like. To determine elastic properties of tissue 331, forexample, tips 323A and 323B may be first separated by an angle 317 andapplied to tissue 331. The tips may be configured to move such as toreduce angle 317, and the motion of tips may result in pressure ontissue 331. Such pressure may be measured (e.g., via a piezoelectricelement 327 that may be located between a first branch 312A and a secondbranch 312B of instrument 301), and based on the change in angle 317(i.e., strain) and the measured pressure (i.e., stress), the elasticproperties of tissue 331 may be measured. Furthermore, based on angle317 distance between tips 323A and 323B may be measured, and thisdistance may be transmitted to device 321. Such distance measurementsmay be used as a length scale for various video/image data that may becaptured by various cameras 115, 121, 123 and 125, as shown in FIG. 1.

Instrument 301 is only one example of possible surgical instrument, andother surgical instruments such as scalpels, graspers (e.g., forceps),clamps and occluders, needles, retractors, cutters, dilators, suctiontips, and tubes, sealing devices, irrigation and injection needles,scopes and probes, and the like, may include any suitable sensors andlight-emitting sources. In various cases, the type of sensors andlight-emitting sources may depend on a type of surgical instrument usedfor a surgical procedure. In various cases, these other surgicalinstruments may include a device similar to device 301, as shown in FIG.3, for collecting and transmitting data to any suitable data-receivingdevice.

Aspects of the present disclosure may involve medical professionalsperforming surgical procedures. A medical professional may include, forexample, a surgeon, a surgical technician, a resident, a nurse, aphysician's assistant, an anesthesiologist, a doctor, a veterinariansurgeon, and so forth. A surgical procedure may include any set ofmedical actions associated with or involving manual or operativeactivity on a patient's body. Surgical procedures may include one ormore of surgeries, repairs, ablations, replacements, implantations,implantations, extractions, treatments, restrictions, re-routing, andblockage removal, or may include veterinarian surgeries. Such proceduresmay involve cutting, abrading, suturing, extracting, lancing or anyother technique that involves physically changing body tissues and/ororgans. Some examples of such surgical procedures may include alaparoscopic surgery, a thoracoscopic procedure, a bronchoscopicprocedure, a microscopic procedure, an open surgery, a robotic surgery,an appendectomy, a carotid endarterectomy, a carpal tunnel release, acataract surgery, a cesarean section, a cholecystectomy, a colectomy(such as a partial colectomy, a total colectomy, etc.), a coronaryangioplasty, a coronary artery bypass, a debridement (for example of awound, a burn, an infection, etc.), a free skin graft, ahemorrhoidectomy, a hip replacement, a hysterectomy, a hysteroscopy, aninguinal hernia repair, a knee arthroscopy, a knee replacement, amastectomy (such as a partial mastectomy, a total mastectomy, a modifiedradical mastectomy, etc.), a prostate resection, a prostate removal, ashoulder arthroscopy, a spine surgery (such as a spinal fusion, alaminectomy, a foraminotomy, a discectomy, a disk replacement, aninterlaminar implant, etc.), a tonsillectomy, a cochlear implantprocedure, brain tumor (for example meningioma, etc.) resection,interventional procedures such as percutaneous transluminal coronaryangioplasty, transcatheter aortic valve replacement, minimally Invasivesurgery for intracerebral hemorrhage evacuation, or any other medicalprocedure involving some form of incision. While the present disclosureis described in reference to surgical procedures, it is to be understoodthat it may also apply to other forms of medical procedures, orprocedures generally.

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to systems and methods forselecting and processing video collections using artificial intelligenceto identify relationships. Disclosed systems and methods may involveusing artificial intelligence to automatically detect events byanalyzing frames of surgical procedures assigning categories to therebyinterrelate subgroups of frames from differing surgical procedures underan associated common surgical event-related category.

In analysis of surgical videos, identifying surgical events andgenerating and aggregating statistics associated with those events canbe a daunting task due to the volume of video information andstatistical data available. For example, thousands of statistics can begenerated across thousands of surgical videos leading to an unorganized,inefficiently managed, and unsearchable data set. Humans may be unableto efficiently detect and organize all of this information due tolimitations in perception or availability of labor hours. Furthermore,presentation of statistical data alone without a link to supportingvideo evidence of the statistic can lead to confusion.

Therefore, there is a need for unconventional approaches that enableusers to receive a presentation of video frames associated with varioussurgical statistics, the statistics identified, aggregated, and assignedto the video frames through machine learning enabled video processingtechniques to provide solutions for detecting events otherwiseundetectable by a human and to create new data structures which areindexable, searchable, efficiently organized, and presented across awide variety of platforms and multiple devices.

Aspects of this disclosure may relate to using machine learning to solveproblems in the field of video processing. For example, aspects of thisdisclosure provide solutions for detecting events otherwise undetectableby a human and create new data structures which may be indexable,searchable, and efficiently organized across a wide variety of platformsand multiple devices.

Aspects of this disclosure may relate to statistical analysisoperations. Statistical analysis operations may include collecting,organizing, analyzing, interpreting, or presenting data. Statisticalanalysis may include data analysis or data processing.

For ease of discussion, a method is described below with theunderstanding that aspects of the method apply equally to systems,devices, and computer readable media. For example, some aspects of sucha method may occur electronically over a network that may be eitherwired, wireless, or both. Other aspects of such a method may occur usingnon-electronic means. In a broadest sense, the method is not limited toparticular physical and/or electronic instrumentalities, but rather maybe accomplished using many differing instrumentalities.

Disclosed embodiments may involve performing statistical analysisoperations across a plurality of videos. A plurality of videos mayinclude a number of portions of one or more surgical procedures capturedin motion picture. The portions may represent an entire surgicalprocedure, a subset of frames from a single surgical procedure, orsubsets of frames from differing surgical procedures. The plurality ofvideos may be located in and accessed from a repository of a pluralityof sets of surgical video footage. As used herein, a repository mayrefer to any data storage location or set of storage locations wherevideo footage may be stored for retrieval. For example, the repositorymay include a memory device, such as one or more servers, a hard driveand/or flash drive or any other mechanism for storing data. In someembodiments, the repository may be a network location such as anetworked server, a cloud storage location, a shared network drive, orany other form of storage accessible over a network. The repository mayinclude a database of surgical video footage captured at various timesand/or locations. In some embodiments, the repository may storeadditional data in addition to the surgical video footage.

Disclosed embodiments may involve receiving a plurality of video framesfrom a plurality of surgical videos. Surgical videos may refer to anyvideo, group of video frames, or video footage including representationsof a surgical procedure. For example, the surgical video may include oneor more video frames captured during a surgical operation. In anotherexample, the surgical video may include one or more video framescaptured from within a surgical cavity, for example using a camerapositioned the body of the patient. A plurality of video frames mayrefer to a grouping of frames from one or more surgical videos orsurgical video clips. The video frames may be stored in a commonlocation or may be stored in a plurality of differing storage locations.Although not necessarily so, video frames within a received group may berelated in some way. For example, video frames within a set may includeframes, recorded by the same capture device, recorded at the samefacility, recorded at the same time or within the same timeframe,depicting surgical procedures performed on the same patient or group ofpatients, depicting the same or similar surgical procedures, or sharingany other properties or characteristics. Alternatively, one or morevideo frames may be captured at different times from surgical proceduresperformed on differing patients.

The plurality of sets of surgical video footage may reflect a pluralityof surgical procedures performed by a specific medical professional. Aspecific medical professional may include, for example, a specificsurgeon, a specific surgical technician, a specific resident, a specificnurse, a specific physician's assistant, a specific anesthesiologist, aspecific doctor, a specific veterinarian surgeon, and so forth. Asurgical procedure may include any set of medical actions associatedwith or involving manual or operative activity on a patient's body.Surgical procedures may include one or more of surgeries, repairs,ablations, replacements, implantations, implantations, extractions,treatments, restrictions, re-routing, and blockage removal. Suchprocedures may involve cutting, abrading, suturing, extracting, lancingor any other technique that involves physically changing body tissuesand/or organs. Some examples of such surgical procedures may include alaparoscopic surgery, a thoracoscopic procedure, a bronchoscopicprocedure, a microscopic procedure, an open surgery, a robotic surgery,an appendectomy, a carotid endarterectomy, a carpal tunnel release, acataract surgery, a cesarean section, a cholecystectomy, a colectomy(such as a partial colectomy, a total colectomy, etc.), a coronaryangioplasty, a coronary artery bypass, a debridement (for example of awound, a burn, an infection, etc.), a free skin graft, ahemorrhoidectomy, a hip replacement, a hysterectomy, a hysteroscopy, aninguinal hernia repair, a knee arthroscopy, a knee replacement, amastectomy (such as a partial mastectomy, a total mastectomy, a modifiedradical mastectomy, etc.), a prostate resection, a prostate removal, ashoulder arthroscopy, a spine surgery (such as a spinal fusion, alaminectomy, a foraminotomy, a discectomy, a disk replacement, aninterlaminar implant, etc.), a tonsillectomy, a cochlear implantprocedure, brain tumor (for example meningioma, etc.) resection,interventional procedures such as percutaneous transluminal coronaryangioplasty, transcatheter aortic valve replacement, minimally Invasivesurgery for intracerebral hemorrhage evacuation, or any other medicalprocedure involving some form of incision. While the present disclosureis described in reference to surgical procedures, it is to be understoodthat it may also apply to other forms of medical procedures, orprocedures generally.

A surgical procedure may be performed by a specific medicalprofessional, such as a surgeon, a surgical technician, a resident, anurse, a physician's assistant, an anesthesiologist, a doctor, aveterinarian surgeon, or any other healthcare professional. It is oftendesirable to track performance of a specific medical professional over awide range of time periods or procedures, but such analysis may bedifficult because often no record exists of performance, and even whenvideo is captured, meaningful analysis over time is typically nothumanly possible. This is due to the fact that surgical procedures tendto be extended in time, with portions of interest from an analyticalperspective being buried within high volumes of extraneous frames. Itwould be unworkable for a human to review hours of video, identifyingand isolating similar frames from differing surgical procedures, letalone performing meaningful comparative analysis. Accordingly, disclosedembodiments enable analysis of surgical events or surgical outcomesrelated to specific medical professionals. A medical professional mayhave one or more of a number of characteristics, such as an age, a sex,an experience level, a skill level, or any other measurablecharacteristic. The specific medical professional may be identifiedautomatically using computer image analysis, such as facial recognitionor other biometric recognition methods. Alternatively or additionally,the specific medical professional may be identified using metadata,tags, labels, or other classification information associated with videosor contained in an associated electronic medical record. In someembodiments, the specific medical professional may be identified basedon user input and/or a database containing identification informationrelated to medical professionals.

The plurality of surgical video frames may be associated with differingpatients. For example, a number of different patients who underwent thesame or similar surgical procedure, or who underwent surgical procedureswhere a similar technique was employed may be included within a commonset or a plurality of sets. Alternatively or in addition, one or moresets may include surgical footage captured from a single patient but atdifferent times or from different image capture devices. The pluralityof surgical procedures may be of the same type, for example, allincluding appendectomies, or may be of different types. In someembodiments, the plurality of surgical procedures may share commoncharacteristics, such as the same or similar phases or intraoperativeevents. As referred to in this paragraph, each video of the plurality ofsurgical videos may be associated with a differing patient. That is, ifthe plurality may include only two videos, each video may be from adiffering patient. If the plurality of videos includes more than twovideos, it is sufficient that videos reflect surgical proceduresperformed on at least two differing patients.

Some aspects of the present disclosure may involve accessing a set ofsurgical event-related categories, wherein each surgical event-relatedcategory may be denoted by a differing category indicator. A surgicalevent-related category may include any classification or labelassociated with the surgical event. Some non-limiting examples of suchcategories may include a procedure step, a safety milestone, a point ofdecision, an intraoperative event, an operative milestone or anintraoperative decision. A surgical event-related category indicator mayinclude any sign, pointer, tag, or code identifying a surgicalevent-related category. In one sense, the category indicator may be thefull name of, or an abbreviation of the category. In other embodiments,the category indicator may be a code or tag mapped to the surgical eventor an occurrence within the surgical event. Surgical event-relatedcategory indicators may be stored in a database or data structure. Bystoring or using surgical event-related category indicators, disclosedembodiments solve problems in the field of statistical analysis bycreating standardized uniform classification labels for data points,allowing data to be structured and stored in systematic and organizedways to improve efficiency and accuracy in data analysis.

In some embodiments, analyzing the received video frames of eachsurgical video may include identifying surgical events in each of aplurality of surgical videos. Identification of a plurality of surgicalevents in each of the plurality of surgical videos may includeperforming computer image analysis on frames of the video footage toidentify at least one surgical event, such as a procedure step, a safetymilestone, a point of decision, an intraoperative event, an operativemilestone, or an intraoperative decision. For example, analyzing thereceived plurality of video frames may include identifying an incision,a fluid leak, excessive bleeding, or any other surgical event.Identified surgical events in surgical videos may defined by differingsubgroup of frames. Alternatively or additionally, the identifiedplurality of surgical events may include overlapping subgroups of frames(e.g., two subgroups may share at least one common frame). For example,a subgroup of frames may relate to a surgical action, such as anincision procedure, and an overlapping subgroup of frames to an adverseevent such as a fluid leakage event. Analyzing the received video framesto identify surgical events may involve any form of electronic analysisusing a computing device including computer image analysis andartificial intelligence.

In some embodiments, analyzing the plurality of video frames may includeanalyzing the plurality of video frames to determine an average skill ofa category of physicians. Analyzing may be performed using themethodology described previously. For example, various statistics can bederived though analysis of a set of frames associated with a category ofphysician. In one example, one or more convolutions of at least part ofthe plurality of video frames may be calculated, and the average skillof the category of physicians may be determined based on the calculatedone or more convolutions. For instance, frames associated with multiplesurgeons can be analyzed to identify properties or events, such ashand-eye coordination, excessive bleeding amount, incision techniques,stitching techniques, appropriate incision placement, dissection,hemostasis, tissue handling skills, or a length of time to complete asurgical event. An average skill can be determined for a category ofphysicians through analysis of the presence or absence of certainsurgical events, through the length of time associated with theperformance of a surgical event, or through detection of techniques usedand comparison with skill criteria derived through a learning modeltrained on prior videos. In this way, an average skill may be determinedby the system. The average skill may be based on any one or more of thecriteria discussed above.

Further embodiments may include presenting an interface enabling thespecific physician to self-compare with the average skill. The interfacemay be a graphical user interface, e.g., user interface 700, such as ona display of a computing device. Presenting an interface may includeoutputting code from at least one processor, wherein the code may beconfigured to cause the interface to be presented. Consistent with thedisclosure above, a skill score or other measure may be calculated forthe specific physician and may be displayed alongside an average scoreor measure for the category of physicians. For example, a specific scoremay be calculated for a surgeon's skill in hiatal repair, wrap creation,fundus mobilization, esophageal mobilization, or other type of surgicalprocedure. The specific physician score in one or more surgicalcategories may be displayed alongside the average score for the categoryof physicians. In some embodiments, the specific physician score and theaverage score may be displayed via alphanumeric text. In otherembodiments, the specific physician score and the average score may bedisplayed graphically. One or more scores may be displayedsimultaneously either through alphanumeric text or graphically.

In some embodiments, the operations may further include receiving aselection via a user interface of a category of physicians forcomparison. Receiving a selection may occur through any data inputmechanism, such as, for example, a graphical user interface, such as ona display of a computing device, a keyboard, a computer mouse, atrackpad, and so forth. In another example, the selection may occurthrough a touch screen. In an additional example, the selection mayoccur through voice input, and the voice input may be processed using aspeech recognition algorithm. In yet another example, the selection mayoccur through gestures (such as hand gestures), and the gestures may beanalyzed using gesture recognition algorithms. The selection of acategory of physicians may be a selection of one or more characteristicof any group of physicians. Such selections may include experiencelevel, years practicing, industry rating, place of employment, number ofprocedures performed, or any other metric depending on system designchoice. In some embodiments a physician or an administrator may selectmultiple criteria (e.g., Y years practicing in a particular hospital andhaving performed N procedures.) In some embodiments, the user interfacemay be configured to permit selection from a group consisting of atleast two of a division, a department, a hospital, a demographic, andliterature. For example, a user may select all orthopedic surgeons in aparticular hospital. In other example, a class of residents in the sameacademic year may be selected. It will be appreciated that multipleselection combinations are apparent and are not limited to theseexamples.

Some aspects of the present disclosure may include assigning eachdiffering subgroup of frames to one of the surgical event-relatedcategories to thereby interrelate subgroups of frames from differingsurgical procedures under an associated common surgical event-relatedcategory. Any suitable means may be used to assign the subgroup offrames to one of the surgical event-related categories. Assignment of asubgroup of frames to one of the surgical event-related categories mayoccur through manual user input or through computer image analysistrained using a neural network model or other trained machine learningalgorithm.

In some examples, subgroups of frames from differing surgical proceduresmay be assigned to common surgical event-related categories throughcomputer image analysis trained with a machine learning algorithm. Forexample, a trained machine learning algorithm may include aclassification algorithm, the input may include a sample, and theinferred output may include a classification of the sample (such as aninferred label, an inferred tag, and so forth). In another example, atrained machine learning algorithm may include a regression model, theinput may include a sample, and the inferred output may include aninferred value for the sample. In yet another example, a trained machinelearning algorithm may include a clustering model, the input may includea sample, and the inferred output may include an assignment of thesample to at least one cluster. In an additional example, a trainedmachine learning algorithm may include a classification algorithm, theinput may include an image, and the inferred output may include aclassification of an item depicted in the image. In yet another example,a trained machine learning algorithm may include a regression model, theinput may include an image, and the inferred output may include aninferred value for an item depicted in the image (such as an estimatedproperty of the item, such as size, volume, age of a person depicted inthe image, cost of a product depicted in the image, and so forth). In anadditional example, a trained machine learning algorithm may include animage segmentation model, the input may include an image, and theinferred output may include a segmentation of the image. In yet anotherexample, a trained machine learning algorithm may include an objectdetector, the input may include an image, and the inferred output mayinclude one or more detected objects in the image and/or one or morelocations of objects within the image In some examples, the trainedmachine learning algorithm may include one or more formulas and/or oneor more functions and/or one or more rules and/or one or moreprocedures, the input may be used as input to the formulas and/orfunctions and/or rules and/or procedures, and the inferred output may bebased on the outputs of the formulas and/or functions and/or rulesand/or procedures (for example, selecting one of the outputs of theformulas and/or functions and/or rules and/or procedures, using astatistical measure of the outputs of the formulas and/or functionsand/or rules and/or procedures, and so forth).

Assignment of a subgroup of frames may generate tags or labelsassociated with the frames. For example, tags may correspond todiffering surgical event-related categories, such as a procedure step, asafety milestone, a point of decision, an intraoperative event, anoperative milestone, or an intraoperative decision. Tags may include atimestamp, time range, frame number, or other means for associating thesurgical event-related category to the subgroup of frames. In otherembodiments, the tag may be associated with the subgroup of frames in adatabase. For example, the database may include information linking thesurgical event-related category to the video frames and to theparticular video footage location. The database may include a datastructure, as described in further detail herein.

Some embodiments may include evaluating each subgroup of framesassociated with each surgical event-related category to derive at leastone statistic associated with each subgroup of frames. Evaluating mayinvolve the computer analysis/artificial intelligence described above.When performed, the evaluating may derive any number of statistics orstatistical data from a subgroup of frames. Statistical data may includeaverage values, data trends, standard deviations, variances,correlations, causal relations, test statistics (including t statistics,chi-squared statistics, f statistics, or other forms of teststatistics), order statistics (including sample maximum and minimum),graphical representations (e.g., charts, graphs, plots, or other visualor graphical representations), or similar data. Evaluating subgroups offrames associated with surgical event-related categories may includeperforming computer image analysis on the video footage to derive atleast one statistic associated with a subgroup of frames. For example,computer image analysis may indicate a quantity of intraoperativeevents, such as an incision or a fluid leak, or it may indicate a lengthof time associated with an aspect of a procedure. Using computer imageanalysis to derive statistics from the subgroup of frames createsefficiencies, improves accuracy, and reduces labor costs throughautomation of the deriving of the statistic. In addition, computer imageanalysis may detect and derive statistics that are undetectable throughordinary surgical observations due to improved efficiencies.

For example, the statistical information may describe relationshipsbetween or within aspects of a surgical-event related category.Statistical information may refer to any information that may be usefulto analyze multiple surgical procedures together. Statisticalinformation may include, but is not limited to, average values, datatrends, standard deviations, variances, correlations, causal relations,test statistics (including t statistics, chi-squared statistics, fstatistics, or other forms of test statistics), order statistics(including sample maximum and minimum), graphical representations (e.g.,charts, graphs, plots, or other visual or graphical representations), orsimilar descriptive data. For example, the statistical information maybe received from a user, may be read from memory, may be received froman external device, may be generated using computer image analysis (forexample as described herein), and so forth. In some examples, thestatistical information may be provided to a user, for example through avisual user interface, audibly, and so forth. As an illustrativeexample, in embodiments where the user selects a surgical event-relatedcategory including the identity of a particular surgeon, the statisticalinformation may include the average duration in which the surgeonperforms the surgical event, the rate of adverse or other outcomes thesurgeon, the average skill level at which the surgeon performs anintraoperative event, or similar statistical information. Statisticaldata may be derived from frames associated with the specific medicalprofessional, or they may be derived from frames associated with othermedical professionals as described herein.

Some embodiments may include aggregating each statistic within eachcategory of surgical events. Aggregating a statistic may refer tocollecting data and combining it from multiple sources. The aggregatedstatistics may be compiled from multiple surgical events having somerelation to a particular surgical event. A surgical event may beconsidered similar to the particular surgical event if it includes thesame or similar procedure steps, safety milestones, points of decisions,intraoperative events, operative milestones, or intraoperativedecisions. For example, statistics quantifying an intraoperative event,such as a fluid leak, may be derived from multiple surgical videosassociated with differing patients. The derived statistics may beaggregated into a composite statistic. The creation of aggregatestatistics may solve problems in the medical field by linking disparatedata points into a summary aggregated statistic which improves analysisof a medical professional's performance across multiple surgeries andpatients.

Some aspects of the present disclosure may involve displaying thesurgical event-related categories for selection together with theaggregated statistic for each surgical event-related category.Displaying the surgical event-related categories for selection togetherwith the aggregated statistic may be performed for example through avisual user interface, e.g., user interface 700, audibly, or through anyother mechanism for providing information to a user. By way of example,a surgical event-related category such as an intraoperative event may bedisplayed alongside a statistic associated with that event. Forinstance, an intraoperative event such as gallbladder bile leak may bedisplayed alongside a statistic representing a quantity of suchgallbladder bile leaks performed by that medical professional. Othernon-exclusive examples include displaying statistical quantitiesadjacent to an intraoperative event, such as a number of pus spillages,a number of cystic duct ‘mud’ spillage. Other non-limiting examples mayinclude displaying a decision point along with a quantity representing anumber of correct or incorrect decisions made by the medicalprofessional.

In some embodiments, displaying the surgical event-related categoriesfor selection together with the aggregate statistic for each surgicalevent-related category may include displaying in a juxtaposed manner,statistics of the specific medical professional and statistics of atleast one of the other medical professionals. A juxtaposed manner mayinclude displaying information from two medical professionals in aside-by-side fashion, in a table, in a graph, or in another visualarrangement that compares data between the professionals. This displayallows a medical professional to compare his or her statistics againststatistics of other medical professionals. For example, the display maydepict a quantity of fluid leaks associated with a particular surgeonalongside a quantity of fluid leaks associated with a different surgeon.Comparisons can be made for any surgical-event related category. Othermedical professionals may be associated with a particular location,hospital, department, specialty, or residency class. In someembodiments, an interface for permitting comparison of video framescaptured from the specific medical professional and the at least oneother medical professional may be provided. The interface may be agraphical user interface such as on a display of a computing device,e.g., user interface 700, or may include any other mechanism forproviding the user with information.

Aspects of the present disclosure may include receiving a selection of aparticular surgical event-related category. In some examples, anindication may be received from the user of a particular surgicalevent-related category from a plurality of surgical event-relatedcategories, for example, through a user interface, through an inputdevice (such as a mouse, a keyboard, a touchscreen, a camera, amicrophone, etc.), through a gesture using a gesture recognitionalgorithm, through speech commands using speech recognition algorithms,and so forth. The selection may be received from a medical professionalusing an interface, such as described above.

In some aspects of the present disclosure graphic characterizing aspectswithin a category may be displayed, enabling selection of a particularaspect within a category. For example, a surgical event-related categorymay be broken down into various aspects governing portions of aprocedure step, a safety milestone, a point of decision, anintraoperative event, an operative milestone, or an intraoperativedecision. In other examples, aspects within a category may be displayedbased on statistical information as described above. Selection of theaspects within a category may be made through any user input device oruser interface as described above.

In some aspects of the disclosed embodiments, upon receipt of theselection of a particular surgical event-related category, apresentation of at least part of the frames assigned to the particularsurgical event-related category may be displayed. The presentation mayenable the user to view surgical footage of at least one surgical eventsharing the selected surgical event category, while omitting playback ofvideo footage lacking the selected surgical event category. Surgicalfootage may refer to any video or video footage, as described in greaterdetail herein, capturing a surgical procedure. In some embodiments,causing the matching subset of stored video footage to be displayed mayinclude executing instructions for playing the video. For example, aprocessing device performing the methods described herein may access thematching subset of video footage and may be configured to present thestored video footage to the user on a screen or other display. In someembodiments, causing the matching subset of stored video footage to bedisplayed to the user may include transmitting the stored video footagefor display. For example, the matching subset of video footage may betransmitted through a network to a computing device associated with theuser, such as a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a mobile phone, atablet, smart glasses, head-up display, a training device, or any otherdevice capable of displaying video footage. Frames may be presentedbased on selection of a surgical event related category, or they may beidentified and selected based upon selection of a particular aspectwithin a category as described above.

In some embodiments, the presentation of at least part of the framesassigned to the particular surgical event-related category includes agrouping of video frames from different surgical videos. The videoframes may be complied into a common file for presentation or may beextracted at the time of playback from differing files. The videofootage may be stored in the same location or may be selected from aplurality of storage locations. Although not necessarily so, videoswithin a set may be related in some way. For example, video footagewithin a set may include videos, recorded by the same capture device,recorded at the same facility, recorded at the same time or within thesame timeframe, depicting surgical procedures performed on the samepatient or group of patients, depicting the same or similar surgicalprocedures, depicting surgical procedures sharing a commoncharacteristic (such as similar complexity level, including similarevents, including usages of similar techniques, including usages ofsimilar medical instruments, etc.), or sharing any other properties orcharacteristics. For example, frames from many different patients may beassociated with a surgical-event related category. The grouping of videoframes may include sequential sets of video frames of surgicalprocedures on differing patients, and presenting may include a videoplayback of sequential excerpts from the surgical procedures ondiffering patients. Video playback may be displayed on desktop computer,a laptop computer, a mobile phone, a tablet, smart glasses, head-updisplay, a training device, or any other device capable of displayingvideo footage. The graphical user interface may display the sequentialexcerpts in a window alongside statistical information and/orsurgical-event categories. For example, the interface may present videoplayback of frames interrelated to the surgical-event category“misidentification of cystic structures” alongside statistical datashowing a quantity of such events and alongside a label indicating theparticular medical professional.

In some aspects of the disclosed embodiments, patient-related personalinformation may be received, and during a time when the grouping ofvideo frames is presented, patient-related personal information may bedisplayed. Patient-related personal information may include informationabout the patient, such as age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status,marital status, geographic location, preexisting medical conditions,prior medical treatments, historic test results, information based on ananalysis of electronic medical record of the patient, and so forth. Insome cases, two or more fields of patient-related information may bedisplayed when the grouping of video frames is presented. Thus, forexample, during playback of frames of video associated with a particularpatient, that patient's personal information may be presented inassociation with the video frames currently being played back. As framesare played back from various patients, the personal information on thedisplay may change to reflect the change in patients.

In some embodiments, video playback of a particular subgroup of framesassociated with the selection corresponds to at least one associatedsurgical event. The associated surgical event may include a selectedsurgical event. For example, a surgeon may input a selection of aspecific intraoperative event and receive a playback of that specificintraoperative event from a plurality of patients or a plurality ofsurgical procedures. In one example, the at least one associatedsurgical event may be selected automatically, for example based on theselection of the particular surgical event-related category, based onpast behavior of a user, based on analysis of the one or more of theframes, based on a convolution of at least a portion of the frames, andso forth. In some embodiments, playback of a subgroup of frames of anassociated surgical event may appear to the surgeon or another user as acontinuous video. In other embodiments playback may stop or pausebetween the discrete sets of video footage. In such instances, thesurgeon or other user may manually start the next set of video footagein the sequence.

In other embodiments, the playback of a particular subgroup of framesincludes frames from a plurality of differing surgical procedures. Forexample, common intraoperative events from differing surgical proceduresmay be displayed. For example, if a similar dissection occurs inmultiple videos even when the surgical procedure differs, the framesassociated with that dissection in each video may be displayed. Surgicalprocedures may be associated with patients with similar characteristics,or they may be associated with patients with differing characteristics.

Aspects of this disclosure may include receiving a plurality ofadditional surgical videos from a plurality of surgical proceduresperformed by other medical professionals. For example, rather thandisplay only videos of surgical procedures performed by a particularmedical professional or group of medical professionals, the system myretrieve for display, frames from other professionals. Retrievalcriteria may include selection of other medical professionals who sharewith a particular medical professional one or more characteristics, suchas an age, a sex, an experience level, a skill level, or any othermeasurable characteristic. In some cases, the specific medicalprofessional and the other medical professional may share no commoncharacteristics, or a selection may occur to present video demonstratingbest practices or improved techniques.

Aspects of the present disclosure may include presenting a statisticalcomparison of the specific medical professional with the other medicalprofessionals. For example, displaying the surgical event-relatedcategories for selection together with the aggregated statistic mayadditionally include displaying the statistics of other medicalprofessionals. A statistic as used in this context may include anymeasure of performance or any characterization of an outcome, a skilllevel, or any other indicator relating to the medical professional, thepatient, and/or the procedure. Display of the statistics may occurthrough a visual user interface, e.g., user interface 700, audibly,and/or any other mechanism of presentation. The display may be done viaalphanumeric characters or through graphical displays, such as bargraphs, line graphs, or any other plotted vectors.

FIG. 7 is an illustration of exemplary user interface 700 for displayingsurgical event-related categories for selection together with theaggregated statistics for each surgical event-related category. Userinterface 700 may include heading 710 denoting a surgical event-relatedcategory indicator. User interface 700 may further include surgicalevent-related category 720, which describes the surgical event-relatedcategory that is associated with corresponding statistics. Userinterface 700 may include an aggregation of statistics representing acomposite statistic associated with the surgical event-related category.For example, user interface 700 may include descriptor 730, anaggregated statistic displayed for the entire surgical event-relatedcategory indicator, or it may include descriptor 750, a statistic for asingle surgical event-related category. User interface 700 may include astatistical comparison of the specific medical professional with theother medical professionals. The user interface 700 may includedescriptor 740, a value reflecting a statistical comparison of thespecific medical professional and the other medical professional acrossthe surgical event-related category indicator, or it may includedescriptor 760, a value reflecting a statistical comparison of thespecific medical professional and the other medical professional acrossthe surgical event-related category. A user may receive a presentationof frames assigned to a particular surgical event-related category byinputting a selection of a particular surgical event-related category byclicking, tapping, or otherwise selecting icon 770.

In some embodiments, operations further include presenting in a commonview patient-related data for a particular patient, and a video playerconfigured to playback frames of surgical video associated with theparticular patient. For example, a graphical user interface may displaythe frames of surgical video in a window alongside text or imagesreflecting patient-related data associated with the frames. In furtherembodiments, as frames associated with differing patients are presentedsequentially, the patient-related data in the common view may change.Patient-related data includes any data associated with a patient, suchas name, age, sex, weight, height, existing medical conditions such asobesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and the like, prior medicaltreatments, historic test results, information based on an analysis ofelectronic medical record of the patient, or any other datacharacterizing the patient. For example, a surgeon may inputpatient-related data, such as age and a pre-existing medicalinformation, and receive playback of frames associated with that inputselection. As playback progresses among a plurality of patients, thedisplayed patient data may be updated to reflect the data associatedwith frames associated with the currently displayed patient.

FIG. 24A is a flowchart illustrating an example process 2400 forstatistical analysis of surgical videos, consistent with the disclosedembodiments. Process 2400 may be performed by a one or more processors.In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable medium maycontain instructions that when executed by a processor cause theprocessor to perform process 2400 or portions thereof. Process 2400 isnot necessarily limited to the steps shown in FIG. 24A and any steps orprocesses of the various embodiments described throughout the presentdisclosure may also be included in process 2400. At step 2405, process2400 may include receiving a plurality of video frames from a pluralityof surgical videos of a plurality of surgical procedures performed by aspecific medical professional. The plurality of sets of surgical videofootage may include intraoperative surgical events, surgical outcomes,patient characteristics, surgeon characteristics, and intraoperativesurgical event characteristics.

At step 2410, process 2400 may include accessing a set of surgicalevent-related categories. Surgical event-related categories may bedenoted by surgical event-related category indicators such as aprocedure step, a safety milestone, a point of decision, anintraoperative event, an operative milestone, or an intraoperativedecision. Surgical event-related categories may be stored in a databaseor data structure.

At step 2415, process 2400 may include analyzing the received videoframes to identify a plurality of surgical events in each of thesurgical videos. The surgical events may correspond to the categoryindicators as described above.

At step 2420, process 2400 may include interrelating a subgroup offrames from differing surgical procedures under an associated commonsurgical event-related category by assigning each differing subgroup offrames to one of the surgical event-related categories. Assignment mayoccur through manual user input, or it may occur through the use of atrained machine learning algorithm as described above.

At step 2425, process 2400 may include evaluating each subgroup offrames associated with each surgical event-related category to derive atleast one statistic associated with each subgroup of frames. Statisticalinformation may include a plurality of items as described above, andeach item may correspond to one or more intraoperative events.Statistics may then be aggregated within each category of surgicalevents in step 2430 of process 2400.

At step 2435, process 2400 may include displaying the surgicalevent-related categories for selection together with the aggregatedstatistic for each surgical event-related category. As described above,displaying the categories together with the aggregated statistic mayinclude displaying the presentation on a screen or other display device,storing the presentation in a location accessible to another computingdevice, transmitting the presentation, or any other process or methodthat may cause the enable the presentation and/or compilation to beviewed. Process 2400 may further include step 2440 to receive aselection of a particular surgical event-related category through a userinterface as described above.

At step 2445, process 2400 may include enabling a medical professionalto view a presentation including a compilation of frames assigned to theparticular surgical event-related categories. The presentation may bedisplayed on a screen or other display device.

In some embodiments process 2400 may be supplemented by a processingdevice performing the operations of process 2450, as illustrated in FIG.24B. Process 2400 and process 2450 may be performed simultaneously orthey may be performed at different times.

At step 2460, process 2450 may include receiving a plurality ofadditional surgical videos from a plurality of surgical proceduresperformed by other medical professionals. Different portions of theplurality of additional surgical videos may correspond to at least oneof intraoperative surgical events, surgical outcomes, patientcharacteristics, surgeon characteristics, and intraoperative surgicalevent characteristics. As described above, other medical professionalsmay be associated with a particular location, hospital, department,specialty, or residency class.

At step 2470, process 2450 may include deriving from frames of theplurality of additional surgical videos statistical data for the othermedical professionals. Statistical information may include a pluralityof items as described above, and each item may correspond to one or moreintraoperative events.

At step 2480, process 2450 may include presenting a statisticalcomparison of the specific medical professional with the other medicalprofessionals. The presentation may be displayed on a screen or otherdisplay device.

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to systems and methods fordetecting instrumental deviations from surgical planes in a surgicalprocedure. Disclosed systems and methods may involve using artificialintelligence to automatically detect deviations from surgical planes byanalyzing frames of surgical procedures, comparing the frames to storeddata characterizing a surgical plane corresponding to the location ofthe interaction and outputting an out-of-surgical plane signalindicating a deviation from the surgical plane by the surgicalinstrument.

In surgical procedures, it is important for surgeons to remain within asurgical plane, so as not to cause collateral damage to the patient. Asurgeon who operates a surgical instrument within a surgical plane mayminimize patient bleeding, minimize patient tissue trauma, and exertless force on a surgical instrument than a surgeon who operates asurgical instrument outside of a surgical plane. Identification that asurgical instrument has deviated from a surgical plane can be adifficult task. Inexperienced surgeons may lack the proficiency toproperly identify surgical planes. Even experienced surgeons maystruggle to properly identify a deviation from a surgical plane if theyare performing an unfamiliar procedure. Although surgical video may beavailable, systems and methods for automatically detecting deviationsfrom a surgical plane in video and providing real time feedback tomedical professionals are lacking.

Therefore, there is a need for unconventional approaches to enable auser to receive an out-of-surgical plane signal indicating a deviationfrom a surgical plane by a surgical instrument through machine learningenabled video processing techniques to provide solutions for detectingdeviations from surgical planes otherwise undetectable by a surgeon.

Aspects of this disclosure may relate to video of a surgical procedure.A surgical procedure may include any set of medical actions associatedwith or involving manual or operative activity on a patient's body.Surgical procedures may include one or more of surgeries, repairs,ablations, replacements, implantations, implantations, extractions,treatments, restrictions, re-routing, and blockage removal. Suchprocedures may involve cutting, abrading, suturing, extracting, lancingor any other technique that involves physically changing body tissuesand/or organs. Some examples of such surgical procedures may include alaparoscopic surgery, a thoracoscopic procedure, a bronchoscopicprocedure, a microscopic procedure, an open surgery, a robotic surgery,an appendectomy, a carotid endarterectomy, a carpal tunnel release, acataract surgery, a cesarean section, a cholecystectomy, a colectomy(such as a partial colectomy, a total colectomy, etc.), a coronaryangioplasty, a coronary artery bypass, a debridement (for example of awound, a burn, an infection, etc.), a free skin graft, ahemorrhoidectomy, a hip replacement, a hysterectomy, a hysteroscopy, aninguinal hernia repair, a knee arthroscopy, a knee replacement, amastectomy (such as a partial mastectomy, a total mastectomy, a modifiedradical mastectomy, etc.), a prostate resection, a prostate removal, ashoulder arthroscopy, a spine surgery (such as a spinal fusion, alaminectomy, a foraminotomy, a discectomy, a disk replacement, aninterlaminar implant, etc.), a tonsillectomy, a cochlear implantprocedure, brain tumor (for example meningioma, etc.) resection,interventional procedures such as percutaneous transluminal coronaryangioplasty, transcatheter aortic valve replacement, minimally invasivesurgery for intracerebral hemorrhage evacuation, veterinarian surgery,or any other medical procedure involving some form of incision. Whilethe present disclosure is described in reference to surgical procedures,it is to be understood that it may also apply to other forms of medicalprocedures involving patient physiology.

A video of a surgical procedure may include any series of still imagesor frames that were captured during and are associated with the surgicalprocedure. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the surgicalprocedure may be depicted in one or more of the still images included inthe video. For example, the video of the surgical procedure may berecorded by an image capture device, such as cameras 115, 121, 123, 125,and 127 as shown in FIG. 1, in an operating room, or in a cavity of apatient. Accessing the video of the surgical procedure may includeretrieving the video from a storage device (such as one or more memoryunits, a video server, a cloud storage platform, or any other storageplatform), receiving the video from another device through acommunication device, capturing the video using image sensors, or anyother means for electronically accessing data or files.

Accessing the video of the surgical procedure may be performed viacommunication to a computer system through a network. For example, FIG.4 shows an example system 401 that may include a computer system 410, anetwork 418, and image sensors 421 (e.g., cameras positioned within theoperating room), and 423 (e.g., image sensors being part of a surgicalinstrument) connected via network 418 to computer system 401. System 401may include a database 411 for storing various types of data related topreviously conducted surgeries (i.e., historical surgical data that mayinclude historical image, video or audio data, text data, doctors'notes, data obtained by analyzing historical surgical data, and otherdata relating to historical surgeries). In various embodiments,historical surgical data may be any surgical data related to previouslyconducted surgical procedures. Additionally, system 401 may include oneor more audio sensors 425, wireless transmitters 426, light emittingdevices 427, and a schedule 430.

Computer system 410 may include one or more processors 412 for analyzingthe visual data collected by the image sensors, a data storage 413 forstoring the visual data and/or other types of information, an inputmodule 414 for entering any suitable input for computer system 410, andsoftware instructions 416 for controlling various aspects of operationsof computer system 410.

One or more processors 412 of system 410 may include multiple coreprocessors to handle concurrently multiple operations and/or streams.For example, processors 412 may be parallel processing units toconcurrently handle visual data from different image sensors 421 and423. In some embodiments, processors 412 may include one or moreprocessing devices, such as, but not limited to, microprocessors fromthe Pentium™ or Xeon™ family manufactured by Intel™, the Turion™ familymanufactured by AMD™, or any of various processors from othermanufacturers. Processors 412 may include a plurality of co-processors,each configured to run specific operations such as floating-pointarithmetic, graphics, signal processing, string processing, or I/Ointerfacing. In some embodiments, processors may include afield-programmable gate array (FPGA), central processing units (CPUs),graphical processing units (GPUs), and the like.

Database 411 may include one or more computing devices configured withappropriate software to perform operations for providing content tosystem 410. Database 411 may include, for example, Oracle™ database,Sybase™ database, and/or other relational databases or non-relationaldatabases, such as Hadoop™ sequence files, HBase™, or Cassandra™. In anillustrative embodiment, database 411 may include computing components(e.g., database management system, database server, etc.) configured toreceive and process requests for data stored in memory devices of thedatabase and to provide data from the database. As discussed before,database 411 may be configured to collect and/or maintain the dataassociated with surgical procedures. Database 411 may collect the datafrom a variety of sources, including, for instance, online resources.

Network 418 may include any type of connections between variouscomputing components. For example, network 418 may facilitate theexchange of information via network connections that may includeInternet connections, Local Area Network connections, near fieldcommunication (NFC), and/or other suitable connection(s) that enablesthe sending and receiving of information between the components ofsystem 401. In some embodiments, one or more components of system 401may communicate directly through one or more dedicated communicationlinks

Various example embodiments of the system 401 may includecomputer-implemented methods, tangible non-transitory computer-readablemediums, and systems. The computer-implemented methods may be executed,for example, by at least one processor that receives instructions from anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium such as medium 413, asshown in FIG. 4. Similarly, systems and devices consistent with thepresent disclosure may include at least one processor and memory, andthe memory may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Asused herein, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium refers toany type of physical memory on which information or data readable by atleast one processor can be stored. Examples may include random accessmemory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), volatile memory, non-volatilememory, hard drives, CD ROMs, DVDs, flash drives, disks, and any otherknown physical storage medium whether some or all portions thereof arephysically located in or near the operating room, in another room of thesame facility, at a remote captive site, or in a cloud-based serverfarm. Singular terms, such as “memory” and “computer-readable storagemedium,” may additionally refer to multiple structures, such a pluralityof memories or computer-readable storage mediums. As referred to herein,a “memory” may include any type of computer-readable storage mediumunless otherwise specified. A computer-readable storage medium may storeinstructions for execution by at least one processor, includinginstructions for causing the processor to perform steps or stagesconsistent with an embodiment herein. Additionally, one or morecomputer-readable storage mediums may be utilized in implementing acomputer-implemented method. The term “computer-readable storage medium”should be understood to include tangible items and exclude carrier wavesand transient signals.

Input module 414 may be any suitable input interface for providing inputto one or more processors 412. In an example embodiment, input interfacemay be a keyboard for inputting alphanumerical characters, a mouse, ajoystick, a touch screen, an on-screen keyboard, a smartphone, an audiocapturing device (e.g., a microphone), a gesture capturing device (e.g.,camera), and other device for inputting data. While a user inputs theinformation, the information may be displayed on a monitor to ensure thecorrectness of the input. In various embodiments, the input may beanalyzed verified or changed before being submitted to system 410.

Software instructions 416 may be configured to control various aspectsof operation of system 410, which may include receiving and analyzingthe visual data from the image sensors, controlling various aspects ofthe image sensors (e.g., moving image sensors, rotating image sensors,operating zoom lens of image sensors for zooming towards an example ROI,and/or other movements), controlling various aspects of other devices inthe operating room (e.g., controlling operation of audio sensors,chemical sensors, light emitting devices, and/or other devices).

As previously described, image sensors 421 may be any suitable sensorscapable of capturing image or video data. For example, such sensors maybe cameras 115-125.

Audio sensors 425 may be any suitable sensors for capturing audio data.Audio sensors 425 may be configured to capture audio by convertingsounds to digital information. Some examples of audio sensors 425 mayinclude microphones, unidirectional microphones, bidirectionalmicrophones, cardioid microphones, omnidirectional microphones, onboardmicrophones, wired microphones, wireless microphones, any combination ofthe above, and any other sound-capturing device.

Wireless transmitter 426 may include and suitable wireless devicecapable of transmitting a location identifier. The wireless transmittermay communicate with other elements in the operating room throughwireless signals, such as radio communication including Bluetooth orWireless USB, Wi-Fi, LPWAN, or other suitable wireless communicationmethods.

Light emitting devices 427 may be configured to emit light, for example,in order to enable better image capturing by image sensors 421. In someembodiments, the emission of light may be coordinated with the capturingoperation of image sensors 421. Additionally or alternatively, theemission of light may be continuous. In some cases, the emission oflight may be performed at selected times. The emitted light may bevisible light, infrared light, ultraviolet light, deep ultravioletlight, x-rays, gamma rays, and/or in any other portion of the lightspectrum.

Aspects of this disclosure may relate to detecting surgical instruments.A surgical instrument may refer to a medical device, a medicalinstrument, an electrical or mechanical tool, a surgical tool, adiagnostic tool, and/or any other instrumentality that may be usedduring a surgery such as scalpels, graspers (e.g., forceps), clamps andoccluders, needles, retractors, cutters, dilators, suction tips, andtubes, sealing devices, irrigation and injection needles, scopes andprobes, and the like. By way of one example, a surgical instrument mayinclude instrument 301 shown in FIG. 3.

Aspects of this disclosure may relate to detecting surgical instrumentaldeviations from surgical planes. In one example, a surgical plane mayinclude an interface area between two tissue surfaces being separated. Asurgeon may create separation between two structures such as tissues orcontiguous organs by operating in a surgical plane. The surgical planemay consist of spider-web like areolar tissue when insufflated with veryfew other structures such as blood vessels. Operating in a surgicalplane may enable structures to be separated with a very gentle force,both separated structures may be completely or almost completelypreserved in that their wall or envelope is not interrupted, and theremay be very little bleeding. In another example, a surgical plane mayinclude a desired plane for a performance of one or more surgicaloperations, for example to improve outcome, to simplify the surgicalprocedure, to minimize bleeding, to minimize organ and tissue trauma,and so forth. A surgical instrument deviation from a surgical planewould be an unexpected departure of the surgical instrument fromoperating in the surgical plane. An unexpected departure may include apiercing or incision of a tissue or organ, a rupture of a blood vessel,or a resistance to separation of the tissues or organs. More broadly,any divergence from an expected action within a surgical plane may beconsidered a deviation.

Disclosed embodiments may involve receiving a plurality of video framesfrom a surgical video feed. A surgical video feed may refer to anyvideo, group of video frames, or video footage including representationsof a surgical procedure. For example, the surgical video feed mayinclude one or more video frames captured during a surgical operation. Aplurality of video frames may refer to a grouping of frames from one ormore surgical videos or surgical video clips. The video frames may bestored in a common location or may be stored in a plurality of differingstorage locations. Although not necessarily so, video frames within areceived group may be related in some way. For example, video frameswithin a set may include frames, recorded by the same capture device,recorded at the same facility, recorded at the same time or within thesame timeframe, depicting surgical procedures performed on the samepatient or group of patients, depicting the same or similar surgicalprocedures, or sharing any other properties or characteristics.Alternatively, one or more video frames may be captured at differenttimes from surgical procedures performed on differing patients. In someembodiments, the plurality of video frames of the video feed is obtainedfrom pre-stored video footage of the surgical procedure. In otherembodiments, the video feed is a real-time broadcast of the surgicalprocedure such as that captured by an image capture device, such as acamera, in an operating room or in a cavity of a patient.

Some embodiments include analyzing at least some of the plurality ofvideo frames to identify a surgical instrument therein. Analyzing thereceived video frames to identify a surgical instrument therein mayinvolve any form of electronic analysis using a computing device, forexample as described above. In one example, one or more convolutions ofat least a portion of the plurality of video frames may be calculated,and the calculated one or more convolutions may be used to identify asurgical instrument within the video frames.

FIG. 8A shows an example event-based machine learning model 813 thattakes input 810 and outputs a predicted outcome for a surgical procedure815. Input 810 may include input parameters 823, as shown in FIG. 8B,such as patient characteristics and information from a medical record aspreviously discussed. Further, input 810 may include information fromthe postoperative surgical report that may include event data 821, asshown in FIG. 8B. In an example embodiment, event data 821 may include alist of events (e.g., events E1-EN), and surgical footage segments V1-VNcorresponding to events E1-EN. Further, data 821 in FIG. 8B may includeevent starting times T1A-TNA and finishing times T1B-TNB. Surgicalfootage (e.g., V1) may be a set of frames of a surgical procedurecorresponding to an event (e.g., E1). In an example embodiment, for anexample surgical procedure, event E1 may be a short event (e.g.,incision) for which T1A and T1B may be about the same time; event E2 maybe an extended time (e.g., suturing) for which T2A is the time at whichthe suturing started and T2B is the time at which the suturing ended;and event EN may be a process of administering medications to reverseanesthesia having corresponding starting time TNA and finishing timeTNB.

In various embodiments, the event-based machine learning method may betrained using training examples, for example as described above. Forexample, a training example may be based on historical data. In anotherexample, a training example may include information related to asurgical procedure (for example as described above), together with alabel indicating an outcome.

Some embodiments may include evaluating the plurality of video frameswith the identified surgical instrument therein to ascertain aninterface area corresponding to a location of an interaction between theidentified surgical instrument and tissue. An interface area may be atwo-dimensional plane or a three-dimensional surface captured in thevideo frames by the video feed, and in some examples may move from oneframe to another. Evaluating may involve the computeranalysis/artificial intelligence described herein. For example, visualaction recognition algorithms may be used to analyze the video anddetect the interactions between the surgical instrument and theanatomical structure or tissue.

Using computer analysis and artificial intelligence to evaluate theplurality of video frames increases efficiency and accuracy whenevaluating surgical interactions. For instance, evaluating can beperformed at speeds that are able to identify risks associated with evenminute movements in real time unattainable by humans. It can enable nearcontinuous evaluation to improve accuracy when used in real time.Furthermore, video frames of the interface area may be captured byrecording devices positioned in locations otherwise inaccessible to thehuman eye, such as cameras located on surgical equipment inserted into apatient, or from differing vantage points. This can enable evaluation ofinterface areas and locations of interaction otherwise invisible to askilled surgeon. By using the disclosed computerized methods toascertain an interface area corresponding to a location of aninteraction, the embodiments provide advantages over prior systems thatmerely present video without analysis and rely on human judgement fordetermining interaction locations. For example, relying on surgicalplanes may enable faster detection of evolving surgical mistakes, mayimprove accuracy of image based surgical error detectors, may enablebetter categorization of detected surgical errors, may offer explainablejustification for automatic detections of surgical errors (and maytherefore facilitate explainable artificial intelligent in that field),may enable localization of automatic detected surgical errors toparticular regions (for example, particular regions in the patient body,particular regions in the video frames, etc.), and so forth. Further,prior automated methods for determining errors in surgery captured byvideo may not rely on the identification of an interaction location andmay be insensitive or unresponsive to real time interactions in surgery.

An interface area may correspond to a location of an interaction betweenthe identified surgical instrument and tissue. An interaction mayinclude any action by the surgical instrument that may influence theanatomical structure, or vice versa. For example, the interaction mayinclude a contact between the medical instrument and the anatomicalstructure, an action by the surgical instrument on the anatomicalstructure (such as cutting, clamping, applying pressure, scraping,etc.), a reaction by the anatomical structure (such as a reflex action),a physiological response by the anatomical structure, the surgical toolemitting light towards the anatomical structure (e.g., surgical tool maybe a laser that emits light towards the anatomical structure,) a soundemitted towards anatomical structure, an electromagnetic field createdin a proximity of the anatomical structure, a current induced into ananatomical structure, or any other suitable forms of interaction fromwhich biological material-instrument feedback may be obtained. Forexample, a machine learning model may be trained using training examplesto detect interactions between surgical instruments and anatomicalstructures from videos, and the trained machine learning model may beused to analyze the video footage and detect the interaction between themedical instrument and the anatomical structure.

In some cases, identifying interaction may include identifying theproximity of the surgical tool to an anatomical structure. For example,by analyzing the surgical video footage of an example surgicalprocedure, the image analysis model may be configured to determine adistance between the surgical tool and a point (or a set of points) ofan anatomical structure.

Some aspects of the present disclosure may involve accessing storeddata. Stored data may refer to data of any format that was recordedand/or stored previously. In some embodiments, the stored data may beone or more video files including historical surgical footage. Forexample, the stored data may include a series of frames captured duringthe prior surgical procedures. This stored data is not limited to videofiles, however. For example, the stored data may include informationstored as text representing at least one aspect of the stored surgicalfootage. For example, the stored data may include a database ofinformation summarizing or otherwise referring to historical surgicalfootage. In another example, the stored data may include informationstored as numerical values representing at least one aspect of thehistorical surgical footage. In an additional example, the stored datamay include statistical information and/or statistical model based on ananalysis of the historical surgical footage. In yet another example, thestored data may include a machine learning model trained using trainingexamples, and the training examples may be based on the historicalsurgical footage. Accessing the stored data may include receiving thestored data through an electronic transmission, retrieving thehistorical data from storage (e.g., a memory device), or any otherprocess for accessing data. In some embodiments, the stored data may beaccessed from the same resource as the particular surgical footagediscussed above. In other embodiments, the stored data may be accessedfrom a separate resource. Additionally or alternatively, accessing thestored data may include generating the stored data, for example byanalyzing previously recorded surgical procedures or by analyzing databased on the stored surgical footage of prior surgical procedures.

In an example embodiment, the data structure may be a relationaldatabase having one or more database tables. For instance, FIG. 5illustrates an example of data structure 501 that may include datatables 511 and 513. In an example embodiment, data structure 501 may bepart of relational databases, may be stored in memory, and so forth.Tables 511 and 513 may include multiple records (e.g., records 1 and 2,as shown in FIG. 5) and may have various fields, such as fields “RecordNumber”, “Procedure”, “Age”, “Gender”, “Medical Considerations”, “Time”,and “Other Data”. For instance, field “Record Number” may include alabel for a record that may be an integer, field “Procedure” may includea name of a surgical procedure, field “Age” may include an age of apatient, field “Gender” may include a gender of the patient, field“Medical Considerations” may include information about medical historyfor the patient that may be relevant to the surgical procedure havingthe name as indicated in field “Procedure”, field “Time” may includetime that it took for the surgical procedure, and field “Other Data” mayinclude links to any other suitable data related to the surgicalprocedure. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, 511 may include links todata 512A that may correspond to image data, data 512B that maycorrespond to video data, data 512C that may correspond to text data(e.g., notes recorded during or after the surgical procedure, patientrecords, postoperative report, etc.), and data 512D that may correspondto an audio data. In various embodiments, image, video, or audio datamay be captured during the surgical procedure. In some cases, video datamay also include audio data. Image, video, text or audio data 512A-512Dare only some of the data that may be collected during the surgicalprocedure. Other data may include vital sign data of the patient, suchas heart rate data, blood pressure data, blood test data, oxygen level,or any other patient-related data recorded during the surgicalprocedure. Some additional examples of data may include roomtemperature, type of surgical instruments used, or any other datarelated to the surgical procedure and recorded before, during or afterthe surgical procedure.

As shown in FIG. 5, tables 511 and 513 may include a record for asurgical procedure. For example, tables may have information aboutsurgical procedures, such as the type of procedure, patient informationor characteristics, length of the procedure, a location of theprocedure, a surgeon's identify or other information, an associatedanesthesiologist's identity, the time of day of the surgical procedure,whether the surgical procedure was a first, a second, a third, etc.procedure conducted by a surgeon (e.g., in the surgeon lifetime, withina particular day, on a particular patient, etc.), an associatedanesthesiologist nurse assistant, whether there were any complicationsduring the surgical procedure, and any other information relevant to theprocedure. For example, record 1 of table 511 indicates that a bypasssurgical procedure was performed on a male of 65 years old, having arenal disease and that the bypass surgery was completed in 4 hours. Arecord 2 of table 511 indicates that a bypass surgical procedure wasperformed on a female of 78 years old, having no background medicalcondition that may complicate the surgical procedure, and that thebypass surgery was completed in 3 hours. Table 513 indicates that thebypass surgery for the male of 65 years old was conducted by Dr. Mac,and that the bypass surgery for the female of 78 years old was conductedby Dr. Doe. The patient characteristics such as age, gender, and medicalconsiderations listed in table 511 are only some of the example patientcharacteristics, and any other suitable characteristics may be used todifferentiate one surgical procedure from another. For example, patientcharacteristics may further include patient allergies, patient toleranceto anesthetics, various particulars of a patient (e.g., how manyarteries need to be treated during the bypass surgery), a weight of thepatient, a size of the patient, particulars of anatomy of the patient,or any other patient related characteristics which may have an impact ona duration (and success) of the surgical procedure.

Data structure 501 may have any other number of suitable tables that maycharacterize any suitable aspects of the surgical procedure. Forexample, 501 may include a table indicating an associatedanesthesiologist's identity, the time of day of the surgical procedure,whether the surgical procedure was a first, a second, a third, etc.procedure conducted by a surgeon (e.g., in the surgeon lifetime, withina particular day, etc.), an associated anesthesiologist nurse assistant,whether there were any complications during the surgical procedure, andany other information relevant to the procedure.

Accessing a data structure may include reading and/or writinginformation to the data structure. For example, reading and/or writingfrom/to the data structure may include reading and/or writing anysuitable historical surgical data such as historic visual data, historicaudio data, historic text data (e.g., notes during an example historicsurgical procedure), and/or other historical data formats. In an exampleembodiment, accessing the data structure may include reading and/orwriting data from/to database 111 or any other suitable electronicstorage repository. In some cases, writing data may include printingdata (e.g., printing reports containing historical data on paper).

FIG. 6 illustrates an example data structure 600 consistent with thedisclosed embodiments. As shown in FIG. 6, data structure 600 maycomprise a table including video footage 610 and video footage 620pertaining to different surgical procedures. For example, video footage610 may include footage of a laparoscopic cholecystectomy, while videofootage 620 may include footage of a cataract surgery. Video footage 620may be associated with footage location 621, which may correspond to aparticular surgical phase of the cataract surgery. Phase tag 622 mayidentify the phase (in this instance a corneal incision) associated withfootage location 621, as discussed above. Video footage 620 may also beassociated with event tag 624, which may identify an intraoperativesurgical event (in this instance an incision) within the surgical phaseoccurring at event location 623. Video footage 620 may further beassociated with event characteristic 625, which may describe one or morecharacteristics of the intraoperative surgical event, such as surgeonskill level, as described in detail above. Each video footage identifiedin the data structure may be associated with more than one footagelocation, phase tag, event location, event tag and/or eventcharacteristic. For example, video footage 610 may be associated withphase tags corresponding to more than one surgical phase (e.g., “Calot'striangle dissection” and “cutting of cystic duct”). Further, eachsurgical phase of a particular video footage may be associated with morethan one event, and accordingly may be associated with more than oneevent location, event tag, and/or event characteristic. It isunderstood, however, that in some embodiments, a particular videofootage may be associated with a single surgical phase and/or event. Itis also understood that in some embodiments, an event may be associatedwith any number of event characteristics, including no eventcharacteristics, a single event characteristic, two eventcharacteristics, more than two event characteristics, and so forth. Somenon-limiting examples of such event characteristics may include skilllevel associated with the event (such as minimal skill level required,skill level demonstrated, skill level of a medical care giver involvedin the event, etc.), time associated with the event (such as start time,end time, etc.), type of the event, information related to medicalinstruments involved in the event, information related to anatomicalstructures involved in the event, information related to medical outcomeassociated with the event, one or more amounts (such as an amount ofleak, amount of medication, amount of fluids, etc.), one or moredimensions (such as dimensions of anatomical structures, dimensions ofincision, etc.), and so forth. Further, it is to be understood that datastructure 600 is provided by way of example and various other datastructures may be used.

In some embodiments, the stored data may characterize a surgical planecorresponding to the location of the interaction. Surgical planescorresponding to an interaction may be characterized by identifiedmedical instruments, anatomical structures, interactions between medicalinstruments and anatomical structures, a measurement of force applied toa surgical instrument, a location within an anatomical structure, aninteraction between adjacent tissues, a location between two organs, acurved area of an anatomical structure, or any other data characterizingan interface between anatomical structures or a predefined operatingplane. Stored data characterizing a surgical plane corresponding to aninteraction may be stored in a database or data structure. Accessingstored data characterizing a surgical plane improves surgery results forpatients by enabling surgeons to detect surgical planes they might nototherwise be able to detect. For instance, a surgeon may not haveexperience in detecting surgical planes used in a certain procedure, orthe surgeon may not have experience in detecting surgical planescommonly found in patients with certain characteristics. Accessingstored data characterizing a surgical plane and presenting this surgicalplane data to the surgeon may enable the surgeon to proceed with surgerywithin a surgical plane and may improve patient outcomes by minimizingbleeding or minimizing organ and tissue trauma. Stored data may beaccessed in a data structure consistent with the data structuresdisclosed herein.

In some embodiments, stored data characterizing a surgical plane isderived from at least one prior surgical procedure. For example, storeddata characterizing a surgical plane may be derived from a specificsurgical procedure such as an appendectomy, a carotid endarterectomy, acarpal tunnel release, a cataract surgery or any other specificprocedure. The data characterizing a surgical plane may be derived froma specific procedure performed on a specific patient, or it may bederived from the specific procedure performed on a plurality ofpatients. For example, data characterizing a surgical plane may bederived from video frames of an appendectomy performed on a particularpatient, or it may be derived from video frames of an appendectomyperformed on multiple patients. The stored data may be associated withcharacteristics of the multiple patients, such as age, height, weight,gender, race, age, medical condition, or any other characteristicassociated with the patient. The data characterizing a surgical planethat is derived from the procedure may be associated with these patientcharacteristics and used to further refine the data characterizing asurgical plane as applied to patients with common characteristics.

In other embodiments, stored data characterizing a surgical plane may bederived from a plurality of prior surgical procedures. The plurality ofprior surgical procedures may be related, may be unrelated, may havebeen performed on a single patient, or may have been performed onmultiple differing patients. For example, data characterizing a surgicalplane may be derived from two unrelated procedures such as anangioplasty procedure on one patient and a coronary artery bypass graftperformed on a differing patient. Each of these surgical procedures mayshare common interactions between surgical instruments and a surgicalplane. Thus, data characterizing a surgical plane may be derived fromboth surgical procedures and stored in the database. Similarly, datacharacterizing a surgical plane may be derived from a plurality of priorsurgical procedures and is not limited to the example disclosed here.

Aspects of this disclosure may include using the stored data todetermine whether the interface area is outside of the surgical plane.For example, video frames may depict the surgical instrument interactingwith tissue at an interface area that does not correspond with thelocation of a surgical plane corresponding to the location of theinteraction. In another example, based on a type of interaction and/orstage of the surgical operation, a desired surgical plane may bedetermined, and the video frames may depict the surgical instrumentinteracting with tissue at an interface area that does not correspondwith the location of the determined surgical plane. The indication thatthe surgical instrument and its corresponding interface area is outsideof the surgical plane may be determined by any of the video analysistechniques disclosed herein. In some examples, a machine learning modelmay be trained using examples to identify an indication that thesurgical instrument and its corresponding interface area is outside ofthe surgical plane. Non-limiting examples of indications that thesurgical instrument and its corresponding interface area is outside ofthe surgical plane include a piercing of tissue or an organ, an incisionof a tissue or organ, a rupture of a blood vessel, bleeding, a releaseof fluids, a resistance to separation by the tissues or organs indicatedby a use of force on the surgical instrument, a color of tissue ororgans, or a mix of colors of tissue or organs.

In some embodiments, using the stored data to determine whether theinterface area is outside of the surgical plane may include applyingartificial intelligence to video frames of prior surgical procedures andextrapolating the surgical plane therefrom. For example, a machinelearning model may be trained using examples as disclosed herein. Theexamples may include one prior surgical procedure, or they may include aplurality of prior surgical procedures. Using examples of priorprocedures, machine learning models may be used to identify an interfacearea that corresponds to a surgical plane extrapolated for the currentsurgical procedure.

In some aspects of this disclosure, the stored data characterizing thesurgical plane may include an indication of expected tissue colorscorresponding to the surgical plane. For example, video frames of priorsurgical procedures may be analyzed to determine tissue colors thatindicate an identified surgical instrument is interacting with tissue atan interface area corresponding to a surgical plane. In other aspects,using stored data to determine whether the interface area is outside ofthe surgical plane is based on the expected tissue colors correspondingto the surgical plane and on color data of one or more pixelscorresponding to the interface area in at least one of the plurality ofvideo frames. For example, pixel data in video frames may indicate atissue color at the interface area corresponding to a location of aninteraction between the surgical instrument and tissue. Stored data mayinclude pixel data representing an expected tissue color correspondingto the surgical plane corresponding to the location of the interaction.The determination may involve evaluating the pixel data in video framesfrom the surgical procedure and comparing it to pixel data from storeddata representing an expected tissue color corresponding to the surgicalplane. In some embodiments, the determination of whether the interfacearea is outside of the surgical plane may be based on at least oneconvolution of a plurality of pixels corresponding to the interface areain at least one of the plurality of video frames.

Aspects of the present disclosure may include outputting anout-of-surgical plane signal. Outputting an out-of-surgical plane signalmay include generating any stimulus that causes a corresponding effect.The signal may transmit a recommendation to a device, cause a display ofa notification at an interface, cause a sound to be played, providehaptic feedback, and/or cause any other indication. The indication maybe output to a device in an operating room, to a device associated witha surgeon (e.g., a human surgeon and/or a surgical robot), and/or to anyother system or device. For example, outputting a signal may includetransmitting a notification to a computer, a mobile device, an externaldevice, a surgical robot, and/or any other computing device. In anotherexample, outputting a signal may include causing a notification to belogged in a file. The indication may be a real time warning of adeviation from a surgical plane, a record of such a deviation, or in thecase of a surgical robotic system, an instruction for controlling thesurgical robot.

In some embodiments outputting an out-of-surgical plane signal mayindicate a deviation from the surgical plane by the surgical instrument.For example, stored data may be used to determine whether the interfacearea between an instrument and a biological structure is outside of thesurgical plane, and upon such a determination, an out-of-surgical planesignal may be outputted indicating a deviation from the surgical planeby the surgical instrument. Outputting the out-of-surgical plane signalmay include the signal types disclosed herein. A feedback device (light,sound, haptic) in the operating theater may receive the out-of-surgicalplane signal and alert the operating surgeon.

In some embodiments the operations may be continuously repeated tocontinuously monitor deviations from the surgical plane. For example,when a video feed is a real time broadcast of the surgical procedure,the operations may be repeated after a certain quantity of video framesfrom a video feed is received, or upon elapse of a certainpre-determined time interval. This continuous monitoring may enable asurgeon wielding a surgical instrument to experience real-timenotification via the out-of-surgical plane signal that a deviation fromthe surgical plane by the surgical instrument has occurred.

In other embodiments, the operations are continuously repeated toascertain during the surgical procedure when the surgical instrument isprojected to deviate from the surgical plane. For example, an analysisof video frames may identify a surgical instrument interacting withtissue at an interface area corresponding to a boundary of a surgicalplane. Stored data characterizing a surgical plane may include boundarydata indicating the outer limit of a surgical plane. In someembodiments, evaluating the video frames may include determining thatthe surgical instrument is adjacent to boundary of a surgical plane, andthat due to this proximity, a deviation from the surgical plane isprojected to occur. Boundary data may be determined using the videoanalysis techniques disclosed herein.

In other embodiments, ascertaining when the surgical instrument isprojected to deviate from the surgical plane includes tracking movementof the surgical instrument to define a projected path of the surgicalinstrument. Movement of the surgical instrument may be detected using amotion detection algorithm, for example, based on changes in pixelsbetween frames, optical flow, or other forms of motion detectionalgorithms. Thus, for example, a path of a surgical instrument may beprojected based on a direction and/or speed of movement. If thedirection of the path and/or the speed of movement tends to indicatethat the surgical instrument is projected to deviate from the surgicalplane, an advance warning may be provided. Tracking movement may becombined with evaluating boundary data of the surgical plane or otherstored data to determine if the surgical instrument is projected todeviate from the surgical plane.

In some embodiments, operations may include outputting a warning signalbefore the surgical instrument deviates from the surgical plane. Thewarning signal may be of a type similar to the out-of-surgical planesignal disclosed herein. For example, the system may determine that thesurgical instrument is approaching a boundary of a surgical plane or itmay ascertain that the projected path of the surgical instrumentindicates the surgical instrument will deviate from the surgical plane.In other embodiments, outputting the warning signal occurs when thesurgical instrument is within a predetermined distance from the surgicalplane. For example, a predetermined distance may be identified to allowa certain factor of safety or allow for human error by the surgeon suchthat a warning signal may be outputted prior to the surgical instrumentdeviating from the surgical plane.

In other embodiments, the warning signal may include instructions on howto avoid deviation from the surgical plane. Instructions may bedetermined by accessing stored data as described herein. In one example,as a surgical instrument approaches a surgical plane boundary,instructions may be outputted indicating a location of an interface areathat is inside of the surgical plane. Instructions may be output througha display, a speaker, a light, a haptic feedback component, an ARdisplay and/or any other input and/or feedback mechanism. Instructionsare not limited to the display of an interface area and may includeother instructions such as directional haptic feedback, illumination oflights or other signals on the surgical instrument corresponding to adesirable direction of movement, may include audible instructionsdelivered through a speaker or other sound-producing device, or anyother communication medium. The audible or visual instructions maydirect the surgeon on how to manipulate a surgical instrument to avoidcrossing a surgical plane or on how to return to a surgical plane.

Outputting an out-of-plane signal or a warning signal may improvepatient surgical outcomes by alerting a surgeon to deviations orpotential deviations of surgical instruments from surgical planes,thereby enabling the surgeon to make corrections to the location of thesurgical instrument to operate within the surgical plane. Operating insurgical planes may improve outcomes for patients by minimizing patientbleeding, minimizing patient tissue trauma, decreasing the surgery time,and improving patient recovery.

In some aspects of this disclosure, the operations may further includedetermining from the plurality of video frames a current step of thesurgical procedure. A step may include any action performed by a surgeon(e.g., a human or robotic surgeon) during a surgical procedure, or by aperson or robot assisting a surgical procedure. Examples of steps mayinclude remedial actions, diagnostic actions, actions following asurgical procedure, actions deviating from a surgical procedure, and/orany other activity that might occur during a surgical procedure. Suchactions may include engaging a medical instrument with a biologicalstructure, administering a medication, cutting, suturing, alteringsurgical contact, conducting a medical test, cleaning an anatomicalstructure, removing excess fluid, and/or any other action that may occurduring a surgical procedure. A current step may be an action by asurgeon occurring in real time or near real time. Determining a currentstep of the surgical procedure may include performing computer imageanalysis on frames of video footage to identify a surgical event, suchas a procedure step, a safety milestone, a point of decision, anintraoperative event, an operative milestone, or an intraoperativedecision. Determining a current step may also include accessing storeddata associated with the surgical procedure to access a list of stepsassociated with the surgical procedure and based on elements present inthe video frames, derive a current step of the surgical procedurethrough a comparison of video frames associated with a list of stepsassociated with the current procedure. The comparison may be performedthrough the computer image analysis disclosed herein.

In some embodiments, determination of the current step of the surgicalprocedure is used to identify the stored data characterizing a surgicalplane. For example, stored data associated with the current step of thesurgical procedure may include data characterizing a surgical plane. Inone example, the system may determine the current step of the surgicalprocedure is to separate two interfacing organs. Stored data associatedwith this step of the surgical procedure may include pixel data based onexcepted tissue color corresponding to the surgical plane. Stored dataassociated with a current step of the surgical procedure is not limitedto pixel data and may include boundary data, image data, or other dataidentifying organs, tissues, or curved areas characterizing the surgicalplane. An ordinary artisan would understand that that a plane may referto any boundary in space, including a two-dimensional plane or athree-dimensional surface (e.g., a boundary defined by a radius), aplane changing in time, and so forth.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example process 900 for detectinginstrumental deviations from surgical planes in video of a surgicalprocedure. Process 900 may be performed by a one or more processors. Insome embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable medium may containinstructions that when executed by a processor cause the processor toperform process 900. Process 900 is not necessarily limited to the stepsshown in FIG. 9 and any steps or processes of the various embodimentsdescribed throughout the present disclosure may also be included inprocess 900. At step 910, process 900 may include receiving a pluralityof video frames from a surgical video feed. The plurality of videoframes of the video feed may be obtained from pre-stored video footageof the surgical procedure or it may be a real-time broadcast of thesurgical procedure.

At step 920, process 900 may include analyzing at least some of theplurality of video frames to identify a surgical instrument. Analyzingat least some of the plurality of video frames to identify a surgicalinstrument may involve any form of electronic analysis using a computingdevice such as object detection algorithms, tracking algorithms,texture-based detection algorithms, or any other suitable algorithms foranalyzing video frames as disclosed herein.

At step 930, process 900 may include evaluating the plurality of videoframes with the identified surgical instrument to ascertain an interfacearea corresponding to a location of an interaction between the surgicalinstrument and tissue. Ascertaining an interface area may be performedby a visual action recognition algorithm.

At step 940, process 900 may include accessing stored datacharacterizing a surgical plane corresponding to the location of theinteraction. Stored data may include frames captured during priorsurgical procedures, information stored as text representing an aspectof the stored surgical footage, information stored as numerical values,pixel data, or boundary data, each characterizing a surgical planecorresponding to the location of the interaction.

At step 950, process 900 may include using the stored data to determinewhether the interface area is outside of the surgical plane. Usingstored data may include comparing image data depicting the location ofan interaction between the surgical instrument and tissue and comparingit to image data characterizing a surgical plane corresponding to thelocation of the interaction.

At step 960, process 900 may include outputting an out-of-surgical planesignal indicating a deviation from the surgical plane by the surgicalinstrument. Outputting an out-of-surgical plane signal may includetransmitting a recommendation to a device, displaying a notification atan interface, playing a sound, providing haptic feedback, and/or anyother method. For example, an out-of-surgical notification may bevisual, audible, tactile, textual, electronic, and so forth. In oneexample, visual notification may be provided on a display screen, as anoverlay over an image, through an augmented reality device, and soforth.

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to systems, computer readablemedia, and methods for providing intraoperative video review of surgicalprocedures. Aspects of the disclosure involve using artificialintelligence and computer image analysis to predict future events in anongoing surgical procedure, generate an option to review a surgicalvideo clip associated with the expected future event, and output forpresentation one or more surgical video clips associated with theexpected future event.

In lengthy surgical procedures, a surgeon may conduct numerousintraoperative procedures during a single surgery. Complex surgeries mayrequire several hours for a skilled surgeon to perform. In some cases, asurgeon may wish to review a summary of the intraoperative proceduresthat the surgeon has performed up to a critical point in the surgerybefore moving on to a next step in the surgery. In other cases, a secondsurgeon may enter the operating room and need to review a summary ofintraoperative procedures that the first surgeon has already performedin an ongoing surgery. In yet other cases, an inexperienced surgeon mayforget to perform an essential intraoperative procedure which could leadto a bad patient result if not corrected before proceeding with thesurgery. However, manual recall of all intraoperative proceduresperformed thus far in a surgery is cumbersome because the quantity ofintraoperative procedures is too numerous for a surgeon to recall andmay be prone to error. In addition, manual recall can distract thesurgeon from the ongoing intraoperative procedures. In other situations,such as in residency training programs, the surgeon may lack theexperience required to properly identify all necessary intraoperativeprocedures in a surgery. Existing methods of presenting video duringintraoperative procedures suffer from lack of automation. For example,existing systems are often inflexible and are unable to automaticallypredict future events and identify relevant videos based on currentvideo data.

Therefore, there is a need for unconventional approaches to enable auser to review intraoperative procedures using video by receiving asurgical video clip associated with an expected future event in asurgical procedure, the expected future event determined through machinelearning enabled video processing analysis of a video feed of an ongoingsurgical procedure.

Aspects of this disclosure may relate to intraoperative video review.Intraoperative video review may involve the examination and assessmentof a collection of video frames from an ongoing surgical procedure.Intraoperative video review may be presented to a medical professionalthrough a video display device such as a screen (e.g., an OLED, QLEDLCD, plasma, CRT, DLPT, electronic paper, or similar displaytechnology), a light projector (e.g., a movie projector, a slideprojector), a 3D display, screen of a mobile device, electronic glasses(e.g., augmented reality glasses or other augmented reality display),virtual reality devices, or any other form of visual and/or audiopresentation.

Some embodiments may include receiving a plurality of video frames. Aplurality of video frames may refer to a grouping of frames from one ormore surgical videos or surgical video clips. The video frames may bestored in a common location or may be stored in a plurality of differingstorage locations. Although not necessarily so, video frames within areceived group may be related in some way. For example, video frameswithin a set may include frames, recorded by the same capture device,recorded at the same facility, recorded at the same time or within thesame timeframe, depicting surgical procedures performed on the samepatient or group of patients, depicting the same or similar surgicalprocedures, or sharing any other properties or characteristics.

In some embodiments, the plurality of video frames is from a surgicalvideo feed. A surgical video feed may refer to any video, group of videoframes, or video footage including representations of an ongoingsurgical procedure. For example, the surgical video may include one ormore video frames captured during a surgical operation. A surgicalprocedure may include any set of medical actions associated with orinvolving manual or operative activity on a patient's body. Surgicalprocedures may include one or more of surgeries, repairs, ablations,replacements, implantations, implantations, extractions, treatments,restrictions, re-routing, and blockage removal. Such procedures mayinvolve cutting, abrading, suturing, extracting, lancing or any othertechnique that involves physically changing body tissues and/or organs.Some examples of such surgical procedures may include a laparoscopicsurgery, a thoracoscopic procedure, a bronchoscopic procedure, amicroscopic procedure, an open surgery, a robotic surgery, anappendectomy, a carotid endarterectomy, a carpal tunnel release, acataract surgery, a cesarean section, a cholecystectomy, a colectomy(such as a partial colectomy, a total colectomy, etc.), a coronaryangioplasty, a coronary artery bypass, a debridement (for example of awound, a burn, an infection, etc.), a free skin graft, ahemorrhoidectomy, a hip replacement, a hysterectomy, a hysteroscopy, aninguinal hernia repair, a knee arthroscopy, a knee replacement, amastectomy (such as a partial mastectomy, a total mastectomy, a modifiedradical mastectomy, etc.), a prostate resection, a prostate removal, ashoulder arthroscopy, a spine surgery (such as a spinal fusion, alaminectomy, a foraminotomy, a discectomy, a disk replacement, aninterlaminar implant, etc.), a tonsillectomy, a cochlear implantprocedure, brain tumor (for example meningioma, etc.) resection,interventional procedures such as percutaneous transluminal coronaryangioplasty, transcatheter aortic valve replacement, minimally invasivesurgery for intracerebral hemorrhage evacuation, veterinarian surgery,or any other medical procedure involving some form of incision. Whilethe present disclosure is described in reference to surgical procedures,it is to be understood that it may also apply to other forms of medicalprocedures, or procedures generally.

The surgical video feed may be from an ongoing surgical procedure. Anongoing surgical procedure may be a surgical procedure that that iscurrently in progress. The ongoing surgical procedure may be at anystage of the surgical procedure such as a preparation stage, aninjection, an incision, an implantation, a wound sealing, a cleaning, orany other stage of a surgical procedure. The surgical video feed from anongoing surgical procedure is not limited to the time a patient is inthe operating room and may include video of preparation activities orcleanup activities in an operating room before the entry of the patientand after the egress of the patient. Surgical video feed from an ongoingsurgical procedure may be received in real-time or in near real-time.For example, the video of the surgical procedure may be recorded by animage capture device, such as cameras 115, 121, 123, 125, and 127 asshown in FIG. 1, in an operating room, or in a cavity of a patient.

Accessing the video of the surgical procedure may be performed viacommunication to a computer system through a network such as the systemdepicted in FIG. 4.

Some aspects of this disclosure involve accessing stored data. Storeddata may refer to data of any format that was recorded and/or storedpreviously. In some embodiments, the stored data may be one or morevideo files including historical surgical footage or historical data.For example, the stored data may include a series of frames capturedduring the prior surgical procedures. This stored data is not limited tovideo files, however. For example, the stored data may includeinformation stored as text representing at least one aspect of thestored surgical footage. For example, the stored data may include adatabase of information summarizing or otherwise referring to historicalsurgical footage. In another example, the stored data may includeinformation stored as numerical values representing at least one aspectof the historical surgical footage. In an additional example, the storeddata may include statistical information and/or statistical model basedon an analysis of the historical surgical footage. In yet anotherexample, the stored data may include a machine learning model trainedusing training examples, and the training examples may be based on thehistorical surgical footage. Accessing the stored data may includereceiving the stored data through an electronic transmission, retrievingthe historical data from storage (e.g., a memory device), or any otherprocess for acquiring data. Additionally or alternatively, accessing thestored data may include generating the stored data, for example byanalyzing previously recorded surgical procedures or by analyzing databased on the stored surgical footage of prior surgical procedures. Thestored data may be in a data structure consistent with disclosedembodiments, such as in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6.

The stored data may be based on prior surgical procedures. Stored datamay include any data derived directly or indirectly from images ofprevious surgical procedures. This data may include, for example,patient characteristics, surgeon characteristics (e.g., a skill level),and/or surgical procedure characteristics (e.g., an identifier of asurgical procedure, an expected duration of a surgical procedure).Stored data may include correlations or other data describingstatistical relationships between historical intraoperative surgicalevents and historical outcomes. In some embodiments, a data structuremay include data relating to recommended actions, alternative courses ofaction, and/or other actions that may change a probability, likelihood,or confidence of a surgical outcome. For example, a data structure mayinclude information correlating a break from a surgical procedure withan improved outcome. Depending on implementation, a data structure mayinclude information correlating a skill level of a surgeon, a requestfor assistance from another surgeon, and outcomes Similarly, a datastructure may store relationships between surgical events, actions(e.g., remedial actions), and outcomes. In one example, a model (such asa statistical model, a machine learning model, a deep learning model,etc.) may be generated based on the prior surgical procedures, and thestored data may include the generated model and/or an indication of atleast part of the generated model. For example, a machine learning modeland/or a deep learning model may be trained using training examplesbased on the prior surgical procedures. While a host of correlationmodels may be used for prediction as discussed throughout thisdisclosure, exemplary predictive models may include a statistical modelfit to historical image-related data (e.g., information relating toremedial actions) and outcomes; and a machine learning models trained topredict outcomes based on image-related data using training data basedon historical examples.

Accessing stored data may include accessing stored historical dataidentifying intraoperative events, associated outcomes, or a recommendedsequence of events. As used herein, an intraoperative event for thesurgical procedure (also referred to as a surgical event) may refer toan action that is performed as part of a surgical procedure, such as anaction performed by a surgeon, a surgical technician, a nurse, aphysician's assistant, an anesthesiologist, a doctor, any otherhealthcare professional, a surgical robot, and so forth. Theintraoperative surgical event may be a planned event, such as anincision, administration of a drug, usage of a surgical instrument, anexcision, a resection, a ligation, a graft, suturing, stitching, or anyother planned event associated with a surgical procedure or phase.Additionally or alternatively, an intraoperative event may also refer toan event occurring to an anatomical structure and/or to a medicalinstrument related to the surgical procedure, whether the event includesan action performed by a healthcare professional or not. One example ofsuch an intraoperative event may involve a change in a condition of ananatomical structure.

An example recommended sequence of events 1001 is schematicallyillustrated in FIG. 10. For example, an event E1 (e.g., connecting aheart-lung bypass machine) may be a first event in the recommendedsequence. Event E1 may be required to occur during a time intervalT1A-T1B of the surgical procedure. An event E2 (e.g., suturing), may bea second event and may be required to occur during a time intervalT2A-T2B of the surgical procedure (or in other examples, during a timeinterval T2A-T2B after the completion of event E1, during a timeinterval T2A-T2B after the beginning of event E1, and so forth). Aftercompletion of event E2, a conditional statement C1 (e.g., determining apulse of a patient's heart) may be evaluated. If conditional statementC1 evaluates to value V1 (e.g., if the patient has no pulse), an eventE3 (e.g., activate the heart-lung bypass machine) may be required duringa time interval T3A-T3B. If statement C1 evaluates to value V2 (e.g.,pulse of ten beats per minute) an event E4 (e.g., administer a firstmedicine to the patient) may be required during a time interval T4A-T4B,and if statement C1 evaluates to value V3 (e.g., pulse of hundred beatsper minute) an event E5 (e.g., administer a second medicine to thepatient) may be required during a time interval T5A-T5B.

Further, comparing the accessed video frames with the recommendedsequence of events may include comparing a sequence of the identifiedevents within the video frames with the recommended sequence of eventsfor the surgical procedure. For example, FIG. 11 shows a sequence 1101of recommended (or mandatory) events and a sequence 1102 of theidentified events within the video frames. When comparing sequence 1101with sequence 1102, a deviation of sequence 1102 from sequence 1101 maybe determined. Sequence 1102 may deviate from sequence 1101 in a varietyof ways. In some cases, sequence 1102 may have different events thansequence 1101. For example, sequence 1101, as shown in FIG. 11 may haveevents E1-E4, and sequence 1102 may have events S1-S5. Sequences 1101and 1102 may be compared for each of intervals I1-I4, as shown in FIG.11. For example, event E1 of sequence 1101 may be compared with event S1for interval I1 of the sequences. In an example embodiment, event E1 maydeviate from event S1. Alternatively, event E1 may be substantially thesame as event S1. In some cases, event E1 may be substantially differentfrom event S1.

In various embodiments, to quantify a difference between event E1 andevent S1, a suitable measure function F(E1, S1) may be defined that mayhave a range of values. In an example embodiment, measure function F mayreturn a single number that determines a difference between events E1and S1. For instance, if F(E1, S1)<F₀(E1), events E1 and S1 aredetermined to be substantially the same, whereas if F(E1, S1)>F₁(E1),events E1 and S1 are determined to be substantially different. Herein,values F₀ and F₁ may be any suitable predetermined threshold values,which may be selected for each type of event (i.e., threshold valuesF₀(E1) and F₁(E1) for event E1 may be different from threshold valuesF₀(E2) and F₁(E₂) for event E2). In various cases, events E1 and S1 maybe characterized by a set of parameters (also referred to as eventcharacteristics). For example, event E1 may be characterized byparameters P1 _(E1)-PN_(E1), as shown in FIG. 11. Parameters P1_(E1)-PN_(E1) may include words, numbers, or data that may berepresented by an array of numbers (e.g., images). For instance,parameter P1 _(E1) may indicate a type of event E1 characterized by atext string (e.g., “incision”), parameter P2 _(E1) may be a numbercharacterizing a length of the incision (e.g., one centimeter),parameter P3 _(E1) may be the depth of the incision (e.g., threemillimeters), parameter P4 _(E1) may be a location of the incision thatmay be characterized by two numbers (e.g., {10, 20}). The location ofincision may be specified by identifying the incision in one or more ofthe video frames captured during the surgical procedure, and parameterPN_(E1) may indicate a type of surgical tool used for the incision(e.g., “CO2 laser”). Event E1 may have as many parameters as needed tofully characterize the event. Further event E1 may be characterized by astarting time TS_(E1) and a finishing time TF_(E1) which may be definedto any suitable precision (e.g., to a precision of a millisecond).TS_(E1) and TF_(E1) may be represented using any suitable time format(e.g., the format may be hour:minute:second:millisecond). Similarly,event S1 may be characterized by parameters P1 _(S1)-PN_(S1), startingtime TS_(S1), and a finishing time TF_(S1), as shown in FIG. 11. As anillustrative example, parameters {P1 _(E1), P2 _(E1), P3 _(E1), P4_(E1), PN_(E1), TS_(E1), TF_(E1)} may be represented by any suitabledata structure (e.g., {P1 _(E1), P2 _(E1), P3 _(E1), P4 _(E1), PN_(E1),TS_(E1), TFE1}={“incision”, 1 [cm], 3 [mm], {10, 20}, “CO2 laser”,13:20:54:80, 13:20:59:76}).

In various embodiments, measure function F(E1, S1) may be defined in anysuitable way. As an example embodiment, measure function may be definedas F(E1, S1)=Σ_(I)(P_(I) _(E1) −P_(I) _(S1) )²+Σ_(k) M(P_(k) _(E1) ,P_(k) _(S1) ), where P_(I) _(E1) and P_(I) _(S1) are related numericalparameters, when event E1 and event S1 are of the same type (e.g., bothevents are of type “incision”), where parameters P_(k) _(E1) , and P_(k)_(S1) are text strings (or data, such as images, that may be representedby arrays of numbers), and where function M returns zero if text stringsP_(k) _(E1) , and P_(k) _(S1) contain the same meaning, or returns oneif text strings P_(k) _(E1) , and P_(k) _(S1) contains a differentmeaning. For cases when P_(k) _(E1) , and P_(k) _(S1) correspond toimages, function M may return zero if images are substantially the sameor return one if images are different. In various embodiments, theimages may be compared using any suitable image recognition algorithmfurther described below. Alternatively, function M may be configured toexecute any suitable algorithm for comparing P_(k) _(E1) , and P_(k)_(S1) depending on a type of data represented by parameters P_(k) _(E1), and P_(k) _(S1) , where the data may include text strings, an array ofnumbers, images, videos, audio signals, and the like.

For cases when events E1 and S1 are not of the same type (e.g., event E1may correspond to “incision” and event S1 may correspond to“administering a medication”), and when sequence 1102 does not containan event of the same type as event E1, the measure function F(E1, S1)may be evaluated to a large predetermined number (or string) indicatingthat events E1 and S1 are substantially different.

As described above the deviation between sequence of events 1101 and1102 may be determined by evaluating a suitable measure functionF(E_(i), S_(i)) for each interval of a surgical procedure I1-I4. Acomplete deviation may be calculated as a sum of measure functionsΣ_(i)(E_(i), S_(i)), where i={I1 . . . I4}. In various embodiments,however, calculating all the deviations for all of the events S1-S4 fromthe corresponding events E1-E4 may not be important and/or necessary. Invarious cases only large deviations (i.e., deviations where F(E_(i),S_(i))>F₁(E_(i)) may be important. For such deviations, events E_(i),S_(i) may be identified and stored for further analysis. Additionally, avalue of measure function F(E_(i), S_(i)) may be stored for furtheranalysis as well. In various embodiments, data related to events E_(i),S_(i), and measure function F(E_(i), S_(i)) may be stored using anysuitable means (e.g., hard drive, database 411, and the like).

In various embodiments, how well the measure of the deviation coincideswith the desired measure of the deviation may be asserted using anysuitable, appropriate mathematical measure function G. For example, if ameasure of a deviation for an event is a number, (e.g., d), and thedesired measure of the deviation is another number (e.g., d₀) then anexample mathematical measure function for a given event E_(i) may beG_(i)(d, d₀) may be G_(i)(d, d₀)=d−d₀, and the measure function may be,for example, a number G=Σ_(i)G_(i)(d_(i), d_(i) ₀ )². Alternatively, inanother example embodiment, G may be a vector G={G_(i)(d_(i), d_(i) ₀)}.

To further illustrate a process of determining the deviation of sequence1102 from sequence 1101, FIG. 11 shows intervals I1-I4 at which eventsE1-E4 of sequence 1101 may be compared with events S1-S5 of sequence1102. For example, during interval I1, event S1 may be substantially thesame as event E1, and during interval I2 event S2 may deviate from eventE2 but may be sufficiently similar to event E2. For example, event S2may correspond to “incision” having an incision length of threecentimeters, and event E2 may correspond to “incision” having anincision length of two centimeters. In an example embodiment, duringinterval I3 of the surgical procedure, event E3 may be substantiallydifferent from event S3 (e.g., event E3 may be identified as an“incision” and event S3 may be identified as “suturing”). Duringinterval I4, event E4 may be substantially different from event S4 butmay be substantially the same (as indicated by arrow 1111, as shown inFIG. 11) as event S5 identified during interval I5. When calculating thedeviation of sequence 1102 from 1101, event S4 of sequence 1102 may beidentified as an “inserted” event that does not have a correspondingcounterpart in sequence 1101. Such characterization of event S4 may berecorded (e.g., stored on a hard drive, database 111, or some otherlocation) for further analysis.

An exemplary surgical intraoperative event for a laparoscopiccholecystectomy surgery may include trocar placement, calot's triangledissection, clipping and cutting of cystic duct and artery, gallbladderdissection, gallbladder packaging, cleaning and coagulation of liverbed, gallbladder retraction, and so forth. In another example, surgicalevents of a cataract surgery may include povidone-iodine injection,corneal incision, capsulorhexis, phaco-emulsification, corticalaspiration, intraocular lens implantation, intraocular-lens adjustment,wound sealing, and so forth. In yet another example, surgicalcharacteristic events of a pituitary surgery may include preparation,nasal incision, nose retractor installation, access to the tumor, tumorremoval, column of nose replacement, suturing, nose compressinstallation, and so forth. Some other examples of surgicalcharacteristic events may include incisions, laparoscope positioning,suturing, and so forth.

In some embodiments, the surgical intraoperative event may include anadverse event or a complication. Some examples of adverse surgicalevents may include bleeding, mesenteric emphysema, injury, conversion tounplanned open surgery (for example, abdominal wall incision), incisionsignificantly larger than planned, and so forth. Some examples ofintraoperative complications may include hypertension, hypotension,bradycardia, hypoxemia, adhesions, hernias, atypical anatomy, duraltears, periorator injury, arterial occlusions, and so forth. In somecases, surgical events may include other errors, including technicalerrors, communication errors, management errors, judgment errors,decision-making errors, errors related to medical equipment utilization,miscommunication, and so forth. In various embodiments, events may beshort or may last for a duration of time. For example, a short event(e.g., incision) may be determined to occur at a particular time duringthe surgical procedure, and an extended event (e.g., bleeding) may bedetermined to occur over a time span. In some cases, extended events mayinclude a well-defined beginning event and a well-defined ending event(e.g., beginning of suturing and ending of the suturing), with suturingbeing an extended event. In some cases, extended events are alsoreferred to as phases during a surgical procedure.

In some cases, a surgical event may identify a group of sub-events(i.e., more than one sub-event or steps). For example, an event ofadministering general anesthesia to a patient may include several stepssuch as a first step of providing a medication to a patient via an IVline to induce unconsciousness, and a second step of administering asuitable gas (e.g., isoflurane or desflurane) to maintain the generalanesthesia.

In some embodiments, operations may include predicting at least oneexpected future event in the ongoing surgical procedure. Predicting mayinvolve calculating or estimating a likelihood that something willhappen in the future (e.g., an occurrence of a future event),determining that something is likely to happen in the future, and soforth. The predicting may occur using one or more artificial neuralnetworks, as discussed herein. For example, a future event may beassociated with a likelihood of occurrence generated using a model, andan expected future event may be predicted based on the likelihood ofoccurrence and a threshold. An expected future event may be associatedwith various likelihoods. For example, an expected future event may bemore likely than not, it may be the most likely event in a set possiblefuture events, a top N-events in a list of events, or it may meet athreshold likelihood. In some embodiments, an expected future event inthe ongoing surgical procedure may be associated with a predeterminedassessment point. For example, the system may determine that the futureexpected event is a wound closure, at which time the surgeon may wish toassess whether all necessary intraoperative events required to becompleted before performing the wound closure have been performed.Predetermined assessment points are not limited to wound disclosures andmay be associated with any intraoperative events, such as a pre-incisioncheck, a pre-suturing check, an anesthesia safety check, an evaluationof airways/aspiration risks, a check of patient or procedural data, orany other intraoperative event. The future expected event may be acomplication, such as the adverse events and complications discussedearlier. Future expected events are not limited to events associatedwith predetermined assessment points or complications and may includeany intraoperative event associated with a surgical procedure.

Some embodiments may include analyzing at least some of the plurality ofvideo frames to determine an intraoperative event therein. Analyzing thereceived video frames to determine an intraoperative event therein mayinvolve any form of electronic analysis using a computing device (i.e.,computer image analysis, for example using action recognitionalgorithms). The analysis may involve artificial intelligence applied tothe video frames, such as through the use of an artificial neuralnetwork, as described herein.

Predicting a future event may be based on computer image analysis. Forexample, a future event may be predicted using a model trained to outputa likelihood of occurrence of a future event. Future events may bepredicted based on a correlated, a regression result, or otherstatistical relationship with a predetermined assessment point, adetermined event or other information derived from video data.Additionally or alternatively, future events may be predicted based onan analysis of stored data associated with a video. Such analyses mayemploy machine vision to assess video images and artificial intelligenceto compare assessed video images with prior assessed video images. Inone example, image-based information (such as video frames, selectedportions of video frames, results of analysis of the video frames, oneor more convolutions of portions of the video frames, etc.) may be usedtogether with temporal information (such as elapsed time since thebeginning of the surgical procedure, elapsed time since a particularevent within the surgical procedure, etc.) to predict the future event.In one example, an entry in a table may be selected based on theimage-based information and the temporal information, and the entry mayspecify the prediction of the future event. For example, the table maybe based on the stored data and/or on the prior surgical procedures. Inanother example, the table may be based on a particular surgeonparticipating in the ongoing surgical procedure, using a first table fora first particular surgeon, and a second table for a second particularsurgeon, the second table may differ from the first table. In someexamples, video frames may be analyzed to identify an entry of aparticular surgical tool to a selected region (such as the field of viewof the camera, a selected portion of a video frame, a region in avicinity of particular part of the patient, etc.), and the prediction ofthe future event may be based on the particular surgical tool and/or onthe selected region.

Predicting a future event may be based on an event-based machinelearning model such as those described in reference to FIGS. 8A and 8B.

Aspects of disclosed embodiments may include analyzing the receivedplurality of video frames and, based on information obtained from storeddata, identifying in the accessed frames at least one intraoperativeevent. As previously described, and consistent with various embodiments,a process of analyzing the accessed frames may be performed by asuitable machine-learning model such as an image recognition algorithm,as described above. In various embodiments, information obtained fromhistorical data may be used to train and/or calibrate the imagerecognition algorithm to recognize specific intraoperative events baseon accessed frames of surgical footage, as previously described. In oneexample, the historical data may include a statistical model and/or amachine learning model based on an analysis of information and/or videofootage from historical surgical procedures (for example as describedabove), and the statistical model and/or the machine learning model maybe used to analyze the accessed frames and identify in the accessedframes the at least one specific intraoperative event.

Aspects of this disclosure may include predicting, based on theplurality of video frames and the stored data based on prior surgicalprocedures, at least one expected future event in the ongoing surgicalprocedure. For example, a data structure may include stored datarepresenting relationships between intraoperative events and predictedoutcomes. Such data structures may be used to obtain a predicted outcomeassociated with a specific surgical procedure. For example, FIG. 12shows an example graph 1200 of intraoperative events E1-E3 connected topossible outcomes C1-C3 using connections n11-n32. Connection n11 mayinclude information indicating a probability of an outcome C1 (i.e.,information indicating how often outcome C1 happens in surgicalprocedures that includes event E1). In some aspects, connection n11 mayindicate that given an occurrence of intraoperative event E1, outcome C1may happen 30 percent of the time, connection n12 may indicate thatoutcome C2 may happen 50 percent of the time, and connection n13 mayindicate that outcome C3 may happen 20 percent of the time. Similarly,connection n22 may indicate a probability of outcome C2, given anoccurrence of intraoperative event E2, and connection n23 may indicate aprobability of outcome C3, given an occurrence of intraoperative eventE2. A connection n32 may indicate a probability of outcome C2, given anoccurrence of intraoperative event E3. Thus, once an intraoperativeevent is known, using information obtained from historical data (e.g.,using information from graph C100), a most probable outcome (e.g.,outcome C2) may be determined based on probability assigned toconnections n11-n13. In another example, the historical information mayinclude a hypergraph, a hyperedge of the hypergraph may connect aplurality of intraoperative events with an outcome and may indicate aparticular probability of the outcome in surgical procedures thatincluded the plurality of events. Thus, once a plurality ofintraoperative events is known, using information obtained fromhistorical data (e.g., from the hypergraph), a most probable outcome maybe determined based on probability assigned to the hyperedges. In someexamples, probabilities assigned to edges of graph C100 or to thehyperedges of the hypergraph may be based on an analysis of historicalsurgical procedures, for example by calculating the statisticalprobability of an outcome in a group of historical surgical proceduresthat include particular group of intraoperative events corresponding toa particular edge or a particular hyperedge. In some other examples, thehistorical information may include a trained machine learning model forpredicting outcome based on intraoperative events, and the trainedmachine learning model may be used to predict the outcome associatedwith the specific surgical procedure based on the identified at leastone intraoperative event. In one example, the trained machine learningmodel may be obtained by training a machine learning algorithm usingtraining examples, and the training examples may be based on historicalsurgical procedure. An example of such training example may include alist of intraoperative surgical events, together with a label indicatingan outcome corresponding to the list of intraoperative surgical events.In one example, two training examples may have the same list ofintraoperative surgical events, while having different label indicatingdifferent outcomes.

The predicting of the expected future event associated with the surgicalprocedure based on the received plurality of video frames may beaccomplished using a statistical analysis. For example, historicalsurgical data for past (also referred to as historical) surgicalprocedures containing an intraoperative event, may be analyzed todetermine a historical outcome for such past surgical procedures. Forexample, for a given type of a historical surgical procedure, surgicaloutcome statistics may be collected, as shown in FIG. 13. For instance,a probability distribution 1301A represented by bars 1311A-1317A (hereinalso referred to as probability bars) may determine a probability ofcorresponding outcomes C1-C4, when an intraoperative event is notpresent (e.g., when an adverse intraoperative event such as bleeding,cardiac arrest, or any other adverse event is not present). Similarly,probability distribution 1301B represented by probability bars1311B-1317B may determine a probability of corresponding outcomes C1-C4when the intraoperative event (e.g., an adverse intraoperative event) ispresent. In an example embodiment, outcome C1 may correspond to aspecific post-discharge mishap (e.g., a foreign object such as gauze isleft in a patient's body), outcome C2 may correspond to a specificpost-discharge adverse event (e.g., bleeding, pain, nausea, confusion,or any other adverse event), outcome C3 may correspond to apost-discharge complication (e.g., paralysis, pain, bleeding, or anyother complication), and outcome C4 may correspond to an elevated riskof readmission. It should be noted that any other suitable outcomes maybe used to evaluate the surgical procedure (e.g., an outcome thatevaluates an objective measure of a patient's “well-being” several daysafter the surgical procedure). In an example embodiment, the height ofprobability bars 1311A-1317A and 1311B-1317B may relate to a probabilityof occurrence of corresponding outcomes C1-C4.

In an example embodiment, an intraoperative event may affect theprobabilities of occurrence of outcomes C1-C4, as shown by bars1311B-1317B that have different heights than corresponding bars1311A-1317A. In an illustrative example, if the intraoperative eventcorresponds to a cardiac arrest during a surgical procedure, bar 1313Bcorresponding to a probability of outcome C2 (e.g., confusion) may behigher than bar 1311B corresponding to a probability of outcome C2 whenthe intraoperative event was not detected during the surgical procedure.

In some cases, a statistical analysis may be used to determine thepredicted outcome associated with the surgical procedure based on adetermination of several intraoperative events that may occur during thesurgical procedure. For example, FIG. 14 shows a probabilitydistribution 1301A with probability bars 1311A-1317A corresponding toprobability for outcomes C1-C4 when there are no adverse intraoperativeevents present (as described above). FIG. 14 also show a probabilitydistribution 1301B with probability bars 1311B-1317B corresponding toprobability for outcomes C1-C4 when there is a first adverse eventlabeled “B” present during a surgical procedure. Likewise, FIG. 14 alsoshows a probability distribution 1301C with probability bars 1311C-1317Ccorresponding to probability for outcomes C1-C4 when there is a secondadverse event labeled “C” present during a surgical procedure. Further,using statistical data for surgical procedures that include event “B”and event “C”, with event “B” starting prior to a start of event “C”,the probability distribution 1301BC may be determined as shown by bars1311BC-1317BC corresponding to probability for outcomes C1-C4.

Additionally or alternatively, using statistical data for surgicalprocedures that include event “B” and event “C”, with event “B” startingafter the start of event “C”, the probability distribution 1301CB may bedetermined as shown by bars 1311CB-1317CB corresponding to probabilityfor outcomes C1-C4. It should be noted that other probabilitydistributions (besides distributions 1301B, 1301C, 1301BC, and 1301CB)may be determined using a suitable statistical data depending on variouscharacteristics of events “B”, and/or “C” and/or combination of thereof.For instance, an event characteristic may include a duration of time forthe event, a starting time for the event, a finishing time for theevent, or any other suitable characteristic (e.g., if an event is anincision, an event characteristic may be a length of the incision; ifthe event is a cardiac arrest, the event characteristics may be bloodpressure values during the cardiac arrest; or any other suitablecharacteristic). An example embodiment of how the probabilitydistribution is affected by an event characteristic is shown in FIG. 15by plotting heights of bars 1511-1517 corresponding to probability foroutcomes C1-C4 in a three-dimensional Cartesian system. As shown in FIG.15, one axis is a probability for outcomes C1-C4, another axis denotesthe outcome (e.g., outcomes C1-C4), and the third axis denotes “EventCharacteristics” of an intraoperative event and is represented by anumerical value (herein referred to as the event characteristic value)such as, for example, incision length for intraoperative event being anincision. FIG. 15 shows that bar heights for bars 1511-1517 may changecontinuously as the event characteristic value changes, while in otherexamples the event characteristic value may be discrete. For a givenevent characteristic value (e.g., V1, as shown in FIG. 15) the heightvalue (e.g., H1) for an example bar (e.g., 1515), corresponding to aprobability of outcome C3 in case of an event characteristic V1, may beinterpolated using nearby height values for bar 1515, when height valueH1 is not known for value V1.

In an illustrative example, the system may receive video frames from anongoing kidney transplant procedure. Using the video analysis techniquesdisclosed herein, the system may determine a list of intraoperativeevents that have been performed during the procedure. The system mayaccess stored data containing a complete list of ordered intraoperativeevents associated with the kidney transplant procedure. Based on theintraoperative events depicted in the plurality of video frames and onthe stored data, the system may determine that an expected future eventin the ongoing kidney transplant surgical procedure is to close theincision point.

In another illustrative example, the system may determine a list ofintraoperative events that have been performed during the procedure, andafter accessing stored data containing a complete list of orderedintraoperative events associated with the procedure, the system maydetermine that an essential intraoperative event was omitted. The systemmay then determine that the expected future event may be a complicationbased on the omitted intraoperative event. For example, the system mayreceive video frames depicting the closure of an incision point, oftenperformed near the completion of a surgical procedure. The system maydetermine a list of intraoperative events that have been performedduring the procedure, compare this list to stored data based on priorsurgical procedures, and determine that an intermediate step to suturean internal organ was omitted from the procedure. The system may thendetermine that an expected future event may be an internal bleedingbased on this internal step being omitted. Predicting at least oneexpected future event in the surgical procedure is not limited to theforgoing examples and may include any number of future events in asurgical procedure such as a fluid leak, a bleeding, a decision makingjunction, an operative milestone, or a next step in a planned surgicalprocedure.

Some embodiments may include generating at least one option to review atleast one surgical video clip. An option may include a prompt on agraphical user interface inviting selection by the user to facilitatereview of surgical video frames. The option may correspond to a menudepicting choices of video clips for display. The option may bepresented to a user through a user interface of a user device, such as adesktop computer, a laptop, a table, a mobile phone, a wearable device,an augmented reality device, a virtual reality device, an internet ofthings (IoT) device, or any other means for receiving input from a user.A surgical video clip may be a collection of surgical video frames.Surgical video clips may be stored in the same location or may beselected from a plurality of storage locations. Although not necessarilyso, surgical video frames within a surgical video clip may be related insome way. For example, surgical video frames within a surgical videoclip may include frames, recorded by the same capture device, recordedat the same facility, recorded at the same time or within the sametimeframe, depicting surgical procedures performed on the same patientor group of patients, depicting the same or similar surgical procedures,depicting surgical procedures sharing a common characteristic (such assimilar complexity level, including similar events, including usages ofsimilar techniques, including usages of similar medical instruments,etc.), depicting a specific intraoperative event, or sharing any otherproperties or characteristics. Surgical video clips may include videoframes from the ongoing surgical procedure or from one or more previoussurgical procedures. Surgical video clips from the previous surgicalprocedures may be related in some way, such as sharing commonintraoperative events, being performed by common medical professionals,being performed on patients with similar characteristics such as age,gender, body weight, or pre-existing conditions, previous medicaltreatments, sharing common complications, or they may be unrelated.

The at least one surgical video clip may be associated with the expectedfuture event in the surgical procedure. Using machine vision and orother artificial intelligence techniques described herein and applied toboth the current surgical procedure and past surgical procedures, thesystem may be able to predict an upcoming future surgical event, andpresent for viewing during the surgery an option to view at least onerelated video clip. By way of example, an expected future event may beremoval of an organ. Using artificial intelligence applied to the videoof the ongoing surgical procedure, the system may determine that thesurgery is nearing a point in the surgical timeline where the organremoval will take place. To prepare the surgeon or the team for thatfuture event, the system may identify stored prior surgical footage ofsimilar removals performed on one or more other patients and make thatclip available for viewing. This may help the surgeon or other membersof the surgical team prepare for the future event. More than one optionmay be presented for viewing. For example, one or more options maydemonstrate complications that previously occurred during other organremovals, and one or more options may demonstrate prior procedures thatwere complication free. Additionally, or alternatively, one or moreoptions may present differing techniques for performing the removal. Thesystem may select the options based on similarities between the patientundergoing surgery and patients in prior recorded surgeries. Forexample, if the current patient is an obese 45-year-old male withdiabetes, the system may seek to select video clips from prior patientssharing similar characteristics. These characteristics may be identifiedfrom patient medical records, from video, or from both.

The system may generate an option to review a video clip. Generating anoption refers to any manner of providing a viewer with an ability toview associated video. It may include for example, identifying relevantvideo clips and presenting via a user interface, and ability to view theoption. An option may be presented automatically once generated, or, aviewer may be provided with a pick list or other mechanism for choosingclips of interest. Options may be presented with textual summaries Forexample, the textual video summary might identify a particularcomplication presented in a particular clip, or a particular techniqueused in a particular clip. This may provide the surgeon or other viewerwith the ability to choose clips of interest for playback. The viewermay have the ability to speed up, slow down, skip, or replay portions ofvideo clips, either through a touch screen interface, a foot pedal, anAR interface, or any other control mechanism.

In another example, an expected future event may be a complication, suchas an internal bleeding predicted based on an occurrence during theongoing surgical procedure. Thus, for example, if a complication occursduring a surgical procedure, the system may be able to demonstrate tomembers of the surgical team an occurrence expected to result from thatcomplication, permitting the team to take steps to avert or prepare forthe expected occurrence.

The at least one option to review at least one surgical video clip maybe generated for intra-surgical presentation. In other words, the optionto review may be presented to the user in the operating room whilesurgery is in progress. The option to review may be presented through auser interface of a user device or a display device of the typedisclosed herein. In some examples, the at least one option to review atleast one surgical video clip presenting prior events in the ongoingsurgical procedure, for example prior events in the ongoing surgicalprocedure that are associated with the expected future event in thesurgical procedure. For example, a subset of the plurality of videoframes from the surgical video feed of the ongoing surgical proceduremay be selected, for example the subset may be selected to be associatedwith the expected future event in the surgical procedure, and the atleast one surgical video clip may include and/or be based on theselected subset. In one example, the selected subset may depictprerequisites of the expected future event. In one example, at least oneframe of the plurality of video frames from the surgical video feed ofthe ongoing surgical procedure is not included in the selected subset.

Aspects of this disclosure may include accessing a data structurecontaining the at least one surgical video clip. The data structure maybe of the type disclosed herein. Accessing the data structure mayinclude interfacing with the stored data through an electronic link oraddress. For example, if a surgeon selects an option to view aparticular video clip, the selection may include an embedded link oraddress to a corresponding video clip stored in a data structure. Thismight occur through a lookup table, or the link or address might pointto a specific location where a corresponding video clip is stored on aserver. Thus, if multiple video clip options are presented to thesurgeon, each option might contain a link the activation of whichenables access to a corresponding video clip stored in a data structure.Accessible video clips may be stored in multiple locations or in acommon location, depending on system architecture. In one example, thedata structure may be a file system, and the at least one surgical videoclip may be stored in one or more files within the file system. In oneexample, the data structure may be a file, and the at least one surgicalvideo clip may be stored in the file. In one example, the data structuremay be a database, and the at least one surgical video clip may bestored in the database. In one example, the data structure may beconfigured to store a sequence of values, and the at least one surgicalvideo clip may be encoded in the sequence of values.

Some aspects of the present disclosure may include outputting forintra-surgical presentation, the at least one surgical video clipassociated with the expected future event. Outputting for intra-surgicalpresentation may include outputting code from at least one processor,wherein the code may be configured to cause the surgical video clip tobe presented. Thus, for example, after a user such as a surgeon selectsa video clip for viewing and that clip is accessed, the clip may beoutputted from its source (e.g., a server) for presentation during asurgical procedure. The presentation may be any form of visual displayincluding the compilation of frames. In some embodiments thepresentation may be a compilation video. The presentation may includeother elements, such as menus, controls, indices, timelines, or othercontent in addition to the compilation. The output may be configured tocause a visual presentation on a display device, such as those describedearlier. In some embodiments, the display device may be located in theoperating room, facilitating review of the presentation during anon-going surgery. Consistent with the present embodiments, outputtingthe surgical video clip may include storing the presentation in alocation that may be accessible by one or more other computing devices.Such storage locations may include a local storage (such as a hard driveof flash memory), a network location (such as a server or database), acloud computing platform, or any other accessible storage location.Accordingly, the presentation may be accessed from an external device tobe displayed on the external device. In some embodiments, outputting thesurgical video clip may include transmitting the video to an externaldevice. For example, enabling the surgeon to view the presentation mayinclude transmitting the presentation through a network to a user deviceor other external device for playback on the external device. In oneembodiment, the expected future event may be a wound closure, and the atleast one surgical video clip may be configured to enable a pre-closuresurgical review. For example, when the system detects that a surgery isnearing closure, the system may present an option to enable a surgicalreview of the highlights of the current surgical procedure. In otherwords, the system is configured to playback to members of the surgicalteam, prior footage of the ongoing surgery. This may enable the team toreview their work before closing. In instances where there is a surgicalcount disparity, summary video may indicate a location in the surgicalcavity where an instrument, sponge, sharp, sutures or miscellaneousitems were last seen. This may occur via artificial intelligence, as thesystem may keep track of the instruments that were not removed from thesurgical cavity and may automatically play back during the pre-closuresurgical review, clips of those locations. Aside from assisting withsurgical counts, the pre-closure surgical review might consolidate forplayback key moments in the surgery, such as instances that typicallygive rise to posts-surgical complications. These key moments might belearned through artificial intelligence performed on the video footageto isolate for playback those portions of the surgical footage that isrelevant for the surgical team to check before closing. This featureimproves patient outcomes by creating video evidence of theintraoperative events conducted by the surgeon in advance of the woundclosure, allowing the surgeon to verify that all necessaryintraoperative events were satisfactorily completed. Creation of videoevidence documenting the intraoperative events and displaying them inreal time reduces the risk of surgeon error in omitting anintraoperative event and removes distractions from the surgeon byeliminating the need for human recall of intraoperative events.

In some embodiments, outputting for intra-surgical presentation includesgenerating a composite video presentation including clips from aplurality of prior surgical procedures. For example, surgical videoclips may include frames from multiple surgical procedures and maycontain multiple intraoperative events. The plurality of surgicalprocedures may be of the same type, for example, all includingappendectomies, or may be of different types. In some embodiments, theplurality of surgical procedures may share common characteristics, suchas the same or similar phases or intraoperative events. For example, acomposite clip might show a procedure being performed incorrectly,followed by a clip of the correct procedure. This might demonstrate tothe surgeon what to do and what not to do. By way of another example, acomposite video presentation might include clips of differing techniquesfor handling the same procedure, thereby providing the surgeon withdiffering surgical options. In another example, the composite mightinclude clips from patients having anatomical differences so that thesurgeon is able to be prepared if such a difference is encountered.

Aspects of this disclosure may include accessing informationcharacterizing a current patient undergoing the surgical procedure.Information characterizing a current patient may include characteristicsof the patient, including age, gender, weight, height, or preexistingmedical conditions. In some embodiments, the at least one surgical videoclip may be selected to reflect video of at least one prior patientsharing characteristics with the current patient. For example, thesurgical video clips may include frames from patients with commoncharacteristics as the current patient, such as patients of the samegender, age, medical history, or common preexisting medical conditionsuch as obesity, or high blood pressure. Medical histories may beconsidered similar if both the current patient and a patient in theprior surgical video share a prior medical condition such as, forexample, heart attack, or common orthopedic implants. Informationcharacterizing a current patient may include any stored information andis not limited to the patient characteristics described here. Suchcharacterizing information may be accessed from surgical video, medicalrecords, or both.

In some embodiments, following the outputting for intra-surgicalpresentation, additional options to review additional surgical videorelated the at least one surgical video clip outputted for presentationare presented. A surgeon may wish to view more than the selectedsurgical video. For example, a video clip showing a removal of a tumormay be outputted. The surgeon may be presented with additional optionsto view additional surgical videos depicting removal of additionaltumors. In this way, the surgeon may review many examples of the same orsimilar intraoperative event. After video clip review, more options forselection may be automatically presented. Alternatively or additionally,the interface may include a button that enables the viewer to accessother examples.

In some embodiments, the surgical video clip includes selected portionsof the surgical video feed of the ongoing surgical procedure capturedbefore the generation of the at least one option. For example, a surgeonmay wish to review a video clip depicting a summary of certain criticalsteps performed in the surgery and may not wish to review the entirevideo of the surgical procedure when presented with the option toreview. In some embodiments, a summary of the surgical procedure may bepresented wherein at least one video frame of the surgical video feed ofthe ongoing surgical procedure is not included in the surgical videoclip. In some embodiments, the operations may further comprise selectingthe portions of the surgical video feed based on the predicted at leastone expected future event in the ongoing surgical procedure. Forexample, the system may determine, through accessing stored data, thatonly a subset of video frames of the ongoing surgical procedure isassociated with a predicted future event. In one example, the expectedfuture event may be that the patient leaves the operating room at theconclusion of the procedure. The system may present the option to reviewa surgical video clip of critical intraoperative events of thatpatient's surgical video that relate to an event predicted to occurlater in the surgical procedure. For example, if a bleed is predicted tooccur later because a particular suture was incomplete, the surgeon maybe shown video clips of the incomplete suture in the current surgery inorder to help the surgeon understand the source of the bleed. One ormore video clips of similar bleeds in other surgeries may also bepresented to the surgeon providing examples of how to rectify thesituation. The video clip may omit video frames not associated with theexpected future event, such as patient preparation or video frames notassociated with intraoperative events, or frames associated withinactivity.

In some embodiments, the operations may further comprise determining atleast one prerequisite of the predicted at least one expected futureevent in the ongoing surgical procedure. A prerequisite of an expectedfuture event may be an intraoperative event that should occur or mustoccur to facilitate the expected future event. A prerequisite of apredicted expected future event may be determined in advance by amedical professional, may be determined through the computer imageanalysis techniques disclosed herein, or may be determined by a hospitalgroup or board of medical professionals. A prerequisite may be a singleintraoperative event, or it may be a plurality of prerequisitesrepresenting more than one intraoperative event. Prerequisites may bestored in a data structure and associated with surgical video clips asdisclosed herein. The system determines a prerequisite by accessing adata structure of the type disclosed herein that contains prerequisitedata associated with the expected future event. For example, the systemmay determine certain prerequisites to the expected future event ofclosing a surgical patient such as removal of patient tissue, removal ofall operating equipment and surgical tools, suturing of any internalbleeding, or other appropriate intraoperative events.

In some embodiments, the selected portions of the surgical video feed ofthe ongoing surgical procedure are configured to enable a surgeon toverify the at least one prerequisite. The system may enable display ofthat perquisite, in the form of a video clip to the surgeon. Forexample, prior to an organ removal, particular vessels may need to betied-off. In association with presenting to the surgeon an ability tosee video clips of an organ removal from a similar prior surgery thesurgeon, the system may also provide the surgeon with the ability toview in video footage of the current surgery, the prerequisites. Thismay enable the surgeon to confirm, for example, that the prerequisiteswere properly performed. A list or thumbnails of prerequisites may beoutput to a display device for viewing. By selecting one or more of theprerequisites, the surgical team's own work in the current procedure maybe displayed in the form of video clips, enabling confirmation that allis in order for the upcoming event. Additionally or alternatively, thesystem might select a group of clips to be shown sequentially as acomposite, demonstrating a group of prerequisites. Regardless of format,as each video clip of the ongoing surgical video is played, the surgeonmay be able to verify through comparison to the list that eachprerequisite has been completed. Verification is not limited to manualreview by a medical professional and may be performed automaticallythrough the system analyzing video frames and accessing stored dataassociated with the surgical video clips. In such situations, if aprerequisite was missed or improperly competed, a warning might bedisplayed to the surgeon. The warning might include one of more of text,audio, a selection of a video clip from a prior surgery demonstratingthe missed prerequisite, and a video clip from the current surgeryillustrating the improperly completed prerequisite.

The at least one prerequisite may be a plurality of prerequisites, andthe operations may further comprise enabling the surgeon to select aprerequisite of the plurality of prerequisites. For example, there maybe more than one prerequisite to an expected future event, and eachprerequisite may need to be performed in a specific order with onerequired to be performed before the other. In some embodiments,selecting a prerequisite of the plurality of prerequisites causes apresentation of a portion of the surgical video feed of the ongoingsurgical procedure captured before the generation of the at least oneoption that corresponds to the selected prerequisite. For example, theoption to review may include two prerequisites, and in response to theuser's selection of one of the prerequisites, a presentation of aportion of the surgical video feed associated with the one prerequisitemay be displayed, with portions of the surgical video feed associatedwith the other prerequisites are omitted.

In some embodiments, the system may cause a presentation of anindication of a prerequisite in conjunction with the intra-surgicalpresentation. An indication of a prerequisite may be any textual,audible, or graphical label identifying the video clips associated withthe intra-surgical presentation as a prerequisite to an expected futureevent. An indication may be a label of text or numbers on a displayinterface on which intra-surgical video is presented, or the indicationmay be presented on a separate display. Moreover, the indication may bean audible signal containing words or non-word communications, or anyother signal appropriate for identifying a video clip as a prerequisite.In embodiments with multiple prerequisites, the presentation of anindication of a prerequisite may be displayed in conjunction with theintra-surgical presentation associated with that prerequisite. Forexample, considering a future expected event with two prerequisites, thesystem may cause a presentation of an indication of the firstprerequisite in conjunction with the intra-surgical presentation of thefirst part of the selected portions; and causing a presentation of anindication of the second prerequisite in conjunction with theintra-surgical presentation of the second part of the selected portions.

Aspects of this disclosure may include receiving a signal indicative ofan entering of a surgeon to the ongoing surgical procedure. The signalmay be generated by a surgical operation room management system, fromuser input, from an analysis of audio captured from a surgical operationroom corresponding to the ongoing surgical procedure, using speechrecognition algorithms capable of identifying a call to the surgeon oridentifying the surgeon's voice, from an analysis of images capturedfrom a surgical operation room corresponding to the ongoing surgicalprocedure, through visual recognition algorithms (such as facerecognition, person recognition, object recognition, etc.), or frompersonnel tracking systems. The signal is not limited to the specificmoment when the surgeon enters the ongoing surgical procedure, but maybe generated in anticipation of a surgeon entering the ongoing surgicalprocedure determined by an operation room management system or personallocation device, or it may be generated after the surgeon has enteredthe ongoing surgical procedure.

In some embodiments, the system outputs for intra-surgical presentationat least part of the surgical video feed of the ongoing surgicalprocedure in response to the signal indicative of an entering of asurgeon to the ongoing surgical procedure. For example, a surgeon mayenter the operating room and wish to review a summary of intraoperativeevents performed in the surgery thus far. After receiving a signalindicating a new surgeon has entered the operating room, the system mayoutput one or more surgical video clips depicting intraoperative eventsin a sequential order while omitting the portions of the video notrelated to intraoperative events. The clips may be keyed to an index forindividual selection. In some examples, the part of the surgical videofeed may be a visual summary of the ongoing surgical procedure beforethe entering of the surgeon. For example, the system may identify eachintraoperative event performed before the entering of the surgeon andmay then display a composite of video clips showing the intraoperativeevents in succession while omitting video frames not associated with anintraoperative event. In this way, the entering surgeon may view aseries of video clips that depict only a subset of intraoperativeevents, allowing the surgeon to understand the surgical history in aquick period of time. In embodiments consistent with the presentdisclosure, the surgeon may enter the operating room for a specificpurpose, such as to respond to a patient complication. In thisembodiment, the system may present for display a surgical video clipdepicting intraoperative events that correspond to the complication,such as an abrasion or cutting of an internal organ or blood vessel.

In some aspects, the system may receive an indication of a user desireto review past occurrences of the ongoing surgical procedure. A user mayinput an indication of a user desire to review past occurrences througha user interface of a user device, such as a desktop computer, a laptop,a table, a mobile phone, a wearable device, an internet of things (IoT)device, dedicated hardware, or any other means for receiving input froma user. The indication by the user may be performed at any time duringthe surgical procedure and may be used to facilitate a review ofintraoperative events performed during the surgical procedure. Inresponse to the user indication, at least part of the surgical videofeed of the ongoing surgical procedure may be output for intra-surgicalpresentation. The part of the surgical video feed of the ongoingsurgical procedure may correspond to the user's selection. For example,the user may select and receive a presentation of a summary ofintraoperative events, a visual summary of the ongoing surgicalprocedure, a visual summary of the ongoing surgical procedure before theentering of the user, a subset of intraoperative events such as thosecorresponding to a complication, or a subset of intraoperative eventscorresponding to one or more prerequisites associated with the userselection.

In some embodiments, the at least one future expected event may be acomplication such as the type described herein, and outputting the atleast one video clip may include presenting at least oncomplication-avoiding video clip demonstrating a surgical technique toavoid the complication. The complication-avoiding video clip may includealternative or remedial surgical techniques or other intraoperativeevents that can mitigate or prevent the complication. Such clips may bedrawing from prior surgical footage using artificial intelligence asdescribed earlier. In some embodiments, the at least onecomplication-avoiding video clip may include a plurality ofcomplication-avoiding video clips demonstrating alternative surgicaltechniques to avoid the complication. For example, if an internalbleeding is predicted, complication-avoidance video clips may bepresented such as videos depicting surgical bracing, stitching orsuturing, alternative surgical paths avoiding the area of the predictedcomplication, or other suitable videos depicting complication-avoidancesurgical techniques.

In some examples, wherein the at least one future expected event may bea complication, the at least one surgical video clip includes at leastone misstep clip demonstrating at least one action giving rise to thecomplication. A misstep clip may be a group of video frames depictingthe action or intraoperative event that causes or may be most likely tocause the complication. In an example, a future complication may be afluid leak and the misstep clip may depict an abrasion or cutting of anorgan or tissue that caused or may be likely to cause the complication.Other examples of misstep clips include accidental contact with organsor tissue by a surgical instrument, omission of a prerequisite in asurgical procedure, a deviation from operating in a surgical plane, orany other actions that give rise to surgical complications. As is thecase with all video clip selections presented for playback consistentwith this disclosure, the misstep clips may be selected by the systemusing artificial intelligence, as described earlier.

Some aspects of the disclosure may involve operations may includetriggering an intra-surgical warning of a risk in an upcoming portion ofthe ongoing surgical procedure. The warning may be triggered usingartificial intelligence by predicting a future event in the ongoingsurgical procedure that may be associated with increased probabilitiesof patient complications. An intra-surgical warning may be an audiblesignal such as an alarm, siren, tone, simulated speech, or the like, orit may be a visual signal such as a warning light, a pop-up message on adisplay, a flashing light or screen, or any other visual indicator. Theintra-surgical warning may also include haptic feedback such as a buzzor vibration emitted from surgical equipment, gloves, or anotherwearable device on the surgeon's body. The system may further display amessage describing the risk. The message may appear on a display deviceor screen of the type described herein. In a further embodiment, anintra-surgical picklist of risk-reducing video clips may be presentedfor review. The picklist may be displayed on a display device adjacentto the message describing the risk. The picklist may includecomplication-avoiding video clips intended to alert the surgeon torisk-mitigation techniques available to reduce risk of complicationduring a portion of the surgical procedure.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating an example process 1600 forproviding intraoperative video review of surgical procedures. Process1600 may be performed by one or more processors that implementartificial intelligence functionality. In some embodiments, anon-transitory computer readable medium may contain instructions thatwhen executed by a processor cause the processor to perform process1600. Process 1600 is not necessarily limited to the steps shown in FIG.16 and any steps or processes of the various embodiments describedthroughout the present disclosure may be included in process 1600. Atstep 1610, process 1600 may include receiving a plurality of videoframes from a surgical video feed of an ongoing surgical procedure. Asurgical video feed may refer to any video, group of video frames, orvideo footage including representations of a surgical procedurecurrently in progress.

At step 1620, process 1600 may include accessing stored data based onprior surgical procedures. Stored data may include any data deriveddirectly or indirectly from images of previous surgical procedures. Atstep 1630, process 1600 may include predicting at least one expectedfuture event in the ongoing surgical procedure. Predicting an expectedfuture event may be performed through use of the disclosed computervisual analysis and artificial intelligence techniques to identify anintraoperative event in the ongoing surgical procedure and referencingstored data representing relationships between intraoperative events andpredicted outcomes.

At step 1640, process 1600 may include generating for intra-surgicalpresentation, options to review a surgical clip associated with theexpected future event in the surgical procedure. As described herein,options to review surgical clips may be generated in association withthe expected future event and may be displayed on a screen or otherdisplay device.

At step 1650, process 1600 may include accessing a data structurecontaining surgical video clips. Accessing a data structure may includereceiving surgical video clips through an electronic transmission,retrieving the surgical video clips from storage (e.g., a memorydevice), or any other process for accessing data. At step 1660, process1600 may include outputting for intra-surgical presentation, surgicalvideo clips associated with the expected future event. As describedherein, outputting the surgical video clips may include presenting thesurgical video clips on a screen or other display device, storing thesurgical video clips in a location accessible to another computingdevice, transmitting the surgical video clips, or any other process ormethod that may cause or enable the surgical video clips to be viewed.

Aspects of present disclosure relate to systems and methods foranalyzing surgical procedures and assessing surgical competency of asubject. Disclosed systems and methods may involve using varioustechniques to analyze video frames associated with a surgical procedureto determine a competency level of a subject in the video frames.

In surgical procedures, it is important that the surgeon is competent.Thus, evaluation of the performance of health care providers (such asinterns, residents, attendings, etc.) in surgeries is an import part intraining of physicians and in the management of health careorganizations. However, manual evaluation may be time consuming andinaccurate. Additionally, after a surgeon enters practice, the oversightof the surgeon may be limited. However, it may be essential for thehealth of patients that surgeons are routinely reviewed for competency.Further, complex surgeries may require several hours for a skilledsurgeon to perform. Manual review of surgeons, either in person, or bymanual video review is inefficient and time consuming For example,having a surgeon of at least the same experience level routinely monitorother surgeons during lengthy procedures may significantly reduceefficiency in the medical system and decrease the number of patientsthat a particular hospital can serve. Additionally, review of othersinvolved in a surgery (nurses, assistants, other doctors, etc.) may beimportant for optimal patient care. For example, while a surgeon isperforming a complex surgery, the surgeon may be unable to closelyoversee the medical professionals providing assistance in the operatingroom. Therefore, there is a need for unconventional approaches forautomated analysis of surgical procedures to assess surgical competencyof subjects involved in the procedures.

Aspects of this disclosure may include systems, methods, and computerreadable media for automated video or audio analysis of surgicalprocedures used to assess the performance of medical professionalinvolved in surgical procedures. For example, disclosed embodiments mayinclude a non-transitory computer readable medium for analyzing surgicalprocedures and assessing surgical competency of subjects. Disclosedembodiments may use video of surgical procedures to assess variousaspects of a subject's performance, such as tissue handling, economy ofmotion, depth perception and surgical procedure flow. The nature of thedisclosed embodiments enables, for example, the creation of scores thatmay indicate a relative competency or skill level of a subject. Theresults of a competency assessment may be presented in an interface thatpermits user view of the associated scores, as well as links to videoclips related to the scores. Accordingly, the disclosed embodimentsprovide solutions for automated assessment of surgical competency andpresenting surgical video clips associated with the assessment therebyenabling object, accurate, and efficient review of persons performing orotherwise involved with surgical procedures.

For ease of discussion, a method is described below, with theunderstanding that aspects of the method apply equally to systems,devices, and computer-readable media. For example, some aspects of sucha method may occur electronically over a network that is wired,wireless, or both. Other aspects of such a method may occur usingnon-electronic means. In a broadest sense, the method is not limited toparticular physical and/or electronic instrumentalities, but rather maybe accomplished using many differing instrumentalities.

Disclosed embodiments may involve receiving a plurality of video framesassociated with at least one surgical procedure. A plurality of videoframes may refer to a grouping of frames from one or more surgicalvideos or surgical video clips. The video frames may be stored in acommon location or may be stored in a plurality of differing storagelocations. Receiving video frames may be performed via a communicationfrom a computer system through a network. For example, receiving thestored data may include receiving the video frames through an electronictransmission, retrieving the video frames from storage (e.g., a memorydevice), or any other suitable process for receiving or accessing storeddata. In one example, the received plurality of video frames may includevideo frames captured from a captured from within a surgical cavityusing at least one image sensor positioned within the surgical cavity.

Although not necessarily so, video frames within a received group may berelated in some way. For example, video frames within a set may includeframes, recorded by the same capture device, recorded at the samefacility, recorded at the same time or within the same timeframe,depicting surgical procedures performed on the same patient or group ofpatients, depicting the same or similar surgical procedures, or sharingany other properties or characteristics.

In some embodiments, the plurality of video frames may be associatedwith a surgical procedure. For example, the video frames may be from asurgical video feed. A surgical video feed may refer to any video, groupof video frames, or video footage including representations of anongoing surgical procedure. For example, the surgical video may includeone or more video frames captured during a surgical operation. Asurgical procedure may include any set of medical actions associatedwith or involving manual or operative activity on a patient's body.While a patient as used herein generally refers to a human patientundergoing surgery, disclosed embodiments may be implemented forsurgical operations performed on animals (e.g., dogs, cats, pigs, orother mammals; birds; reptiles; amphibians; and other non-humanpatients). Surgical procedures may include one or more of surgeries,repairs, ablations, replacements, implantations, implantations,extractions, treatments, restrictions, re-routing, and blockage removal.Such procedures may involve cutting, abrading, suturing, extracting,lancing or any other technique that involves physically changing bodytissues and/or organs. Some examples of such surgical procedures mayinclude a laparoscopic surgery, a thoracoscopic procedure, abronchoscopic procedure, a microscopic procedure, an open surgery, arobotic surgery, an appendectomy, a carotid endarterectomy, a carpaltunnel release, a cataract surgery, a cesarean section, acholecystectomy, a colectomy (such as a partial colectomy, a totalcolectomy, etc.), a coronary angioplasty, a coronary artery bypass, adebridement (for example of a wound, a burn, an infection, etc.), a freeskin graft, a hemorrhoidectomy, a hip replacement, a hysterectomy, ahysteroscopy, an inguinal hernia repair, a knee arthroscopy, a kneereplacement, a mastectomy (such as a partial mastectomy, a totalmastectomy, a modified radical mastectomy, etc.), a prostate resection,a prostate removal, a shoulder arthroscopy, a spine surgery (such as aspinal fusion, a laminectomy, a foraminotomy, a discectomy, a diskreplacement, an interlaminar implant, etc.), a tonsillectomy, a cochlearimplant procedure, brain tumor (for example meningioma, etc.) resection,interventional procedures such as percutaneous transluminal coronaryangioplasty, transcatheter aortic valve replacement, minimally invasivesurgery for intracerebral hemorrhage evacuation, or any other medicalprocedure involving some form of incision. While the present disclosureis described in reference to surgical procedures, it is to be understoodthat it may also apply to other forms of medical procedures, orprocedures generally.

Disclosed embodiments may involve accessing stored data based on priorsurgical procedures. Stored data may refer to data of any format thatwas recorded and/or stored previously. In some embodiments, the storeddata may be one or more video files including historical surgicalfootage or historical data. For example, the stored data may include aseries of frames captured during the prior surgical procedures. Thisstored data is not limited to video files, however. For example, thestored data may include information stored as text representing at leastone aspect of the stored surgical footage. For example, the stored datamay include a database of information summarizing or otherwise referringto historical surgical footage. In another example, the stored data mayinclude information stored as numerical values representing at least oneaspect of the historical surgical footage. In an additional example, thestored data may include statistical information and/or statistical modelbased on an analysis of the historical surgical footage. In yet anotherexample, the stored data may include a machine learning model trainedusing training examples, and the training examples may be based on thehistorical surgical footage. Accessing the stored data may includereceiving the stored data through an electronic transmission, retrievingthe historical data from storage (e.g., a memory device), or any otherprocess for accessing data. Additionally or alternatively, accessing thestored data may include generating the stored data, for example byanalyzing previously recorded surgical procedures or by analyzing databased on the stored surgical footage of prior surgical procedures. Thestored data may be in a data structure consistent with disclosedembodiments, such as in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6.

The stored data may be based on prior surgical procedures. Stored datamay include any data derived directly or indirectly from images ofprevious surgical procedures. This data may include, for example,patient characteristics, surgeon characteristics (e.g., a skill level),and/or surgical procedure characteristics (e.g., an identifier of asurgical procedure, an expected duration of a surgical procedure).Stored data may include correlations or other data describingstatistical relationships between historical intraoperative surgicalevents and historical outcomes. In some embodiments, a data structuremay include data relating to recommended actions, alternative courses ofaction, and/or other actions that may change a probability, likelihood,or confidence of a surgical outcome. For example, a data structure mayinclude information correlating a break from a surgical procedure withan improved outcome. Depending on implementation, a data structure mayinclude information correlating a skill level of a surgeon, a requestfor assistance from another surgeon, and outcomes Similarly, a datastructure may store relationships between surgical events, actions(e.g., remedial actions), and outcomes. While a host of correlationmodels may be used for prediction as discussed throughout thisdisclosure, exemplary predictive models may include a statistical modelfit to historical image-related data (e.g., information relating toremedial actions) and outcomes; and a machine learning models trained topredict outcomes based on image-related data using training data basedon historical examples.

Stored data based on prior surgical procedures may include dataindicating previous performance assessments of subjects involved in thesurgical procedure. As used herein, a subject may refer to a medicalprofessional or other person involved in a surgical procedure. Forexample, subjects may include surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists,interns, residents, attending physicians, physician's assistant,technicians, or others assisting with or involved in a surgicalprocedure. In some embodiments, a subject may be a surgical robot. Dataindicating previous performance assessments may include priorcompetency-related scores, assessments, evaluations, or other existingdata related to the performance of a subject during a previous surgicalprocedure.

Accessing stored data may include accessing stored historical dataidentifying intraoperative events, associated outcomes, or a recommendedsequence of events. As used herein, an intraoperative event for thesurgical procedure (also referred to as a surgical event) may refer toan action that is performed as part of a surgical procedure, such as anaction performed by a surgeon, a surgical technician, a nurse, aphysician's assistant, an anesthesiologist, a doctor, any otherhealthcare professional, a surgical robot, and so forth. Theintraoperative surgical event may be a planned event, such as anincision, administration of a drug, usage of a surgical instrument, anexcision, a resection, a ligation, a graft, suturing, stitching, or anyother planned event associated with a surgical procedure or phase.Additionally, or alternatively, an intraoperative event may also referto an event occurring to an anatomical structure and/or to a medicalinstrument related to the surgical procedure, regardless of whether theevent includes an action performed by a healthcare professional. Oneexample of such an intraoperative event may include a change in acondition of an anatomical structure.

As described herein, a recommended sequence of events may include aseries of events that should occur in a particular order or within agiven time frame. In some embodiments, certain events may be conditionalbased on patients' conditions, previous events, etc. Further, comparingthe accessed video frames with the recommended sequence of events mayinclude comparing a sequence of the identified events within the videoframes with the recommended sequence of events for the surgicalprocedure. Comparing a sequence of events may occur, for example, asdescribed herein with reference to FIG. 11.

An exemplary surgical intraoperative event for a laparoscopiccholecystectomy surgery may include trocar placement, calot's triangledissection, clipping and cutting of cystic duct and artery, gallbladderdissection, gallbladder packaging, cleaning and coagulation of liverbed, gallbladder retraction, and so forth. In another example, surgicalevents of a cataract surgery may include povidone-iodine injection,corneal incision, capsulorhexis, phaco-emulsification, corticalaspiration, intraocular lens implantation, intraocular-lens adjustment,wound sealing, and so forth. In yet another example, surgicalcharacteristic events of a pituitary surgery may include preparation,nasal incision, nose retractor installation, access to the tumor, tumorremoval, column of nose replacement, suturing, nose compressinstallation, and so forth. Some other examples of surgicalcharacteristic events may include incisions, laparoscope positioning,suturing, and so forth.

In some embodiments, the surgical intraoperative event may include anadverse event or a complication. Some examples of adverse surgicalevents may include bleeding, mesenteric emphysema, injury, conversion tounplanned open surgery (for example, abdominal wall incision), incisionsignificantly larger than planned, and so forth. Some examples ofintraoperative complications may include hypertension, hypotension,bradycardia, hypoxemia, adhesions, hernias, atypical anatomy, duraltears, periorator injury, arterial occlusions, and so forth. In somecases, surgical events may include other errors, including technicalerrors, communication errors, management errors, judgment errors,decision-making errors, errors related to medical equipment utilization,miscommunication, and so forth. In various embodiments, events may beshort or may last for a duration of time. For example, a short event(e.g., incision) may be determined to occur at a particular time duringthe surgical procedure, and an extended event (e.g., bleeding) may bedetermined to occur over a time span. In some cases, extended events mayinclude a well-defined beginning event and a well-defined ending event(e.g., beginning of suturing and ending of the suturing), with suturingbeing an extended event. In some cases, extended events are alsoreferred to as phases during a surgical procedure.

In some cases, a surgical event may identify a group of sub-events(i.e., more than one sub-event or steps). For example, an event ofadministering general anesthesia to a patient may include several stepssuch as a first step of providing a medication to a patient via an IVline to induce unconsciousness, and a second step of administering asuitable gas (e.g., isoflurane or desflurane) to maintain the generalanesthesia.

In some embodiments, the stored data based on prior surgical proceduresmay include a machine learning model trained using a data set based onprior surgical procedures. For example, a machine learning model may betrained to process video frames and generate competency-related scores,as described below. In one example, the machine learning model may betrained using a training dataset including video clips of previoussurgeries (or portions thereof, such as individual frames, segments ofindividual frames, etc.) and corresponding labels including manualevaluations of subjects involved in the surgeries. In another example,the machine learning model may be trained using a training datasetincluding information based on an analysis of video clips of previoussurgeries (such as functions of the video clips, convolutions of thevideo clips, etc.) and corresponding labels including manual evaluationsof subjects involved in the surgeries.

Disclosed embodiments may involve processing, for example using thestored data, the plurality of video frames to assess at least one oftissue handling, economy of motion, depth perception and surgicalprocedure flow in the plurality of video frames. As described herein,processing the plurality of frames may include using a machine learningor image analysis technique. In some embodiments, artificialintelligence algorithms (such as trained machine learning algorithms)may be used to analyze inputs and generate outputs, for example in thecases described herein. Processing the plurality of video frames mayinclude analyzing image data of the video frames. As described herein,analyzing image data (as described herein) may include analyzing theimage data (in this case, data related to a video frame) to obtainpreprocessed image data, and subsequently analyzing the image dataand/or the preprocessed image data to obtain the desired outcome.Aspects of disclosed embodiments may include processing the receivedplurality of video frames and, based on information obtained from storeddata, to assess tissue handling, economy of motion, depth perception, orsurgical procedure flow. As previously described, and consistent withvarious embodiments, a process of analyzing the received video framesmay be performed by a suitable machine-learning model such as an imagerecognition algorithm, as described above, consistent with disclosedembodiments. In various embodiments, information obtained from storedhistorical data based on prior surgical procedures may be used to trainthe image recognition algorithm to assess aspects of surgical proceduresby recognizing and comparing specific intraoperative events, actions,timings, etc. base on accessed frames of surgical footage, as previouslydescribed. In one example, the historical data may include a statisticalmodel and/or a machine learning model based on an analysis ofinformation and/or video footage from historical surgical procedures(for example as described above), and the statistical model and/or themachine learning model may be used to analyze the accessed frames andidentify deviations in the received video frames from a reference set offrames or images related to prior surgical procedures. Such automatedprocessing and assessment techniques may provide more accurate,efficient, and objective measures of surgical competency of subjects,compared to manual assessment. For example, automated assessments mayremove biases of human reviewers while also being conducted more quicklywithout requiring a human reviewer to watch and analyze video of asurgical procedure that could last several hours.

As an example of processing using a machine learning model, a machinelearning model may take one or more video frames or preprocessed imagedata from the video frames as input and output information related tothe video frames, such as differences between the frames and referenceframes. The model may compare the received frames to expected surgicalevents from the stored data based on prior procedures. For example, themachine learning model may recognize a type of surgical procedure basedon the processed image data, and then compare the image data to anexpected list of events, timing, actions by the subject, etc. Based onthe comparison, deviations between the expected actions and the actualactions taken by the subject during the surgical procedure may beassessed. For example, specific deviations may be identified, or a levelof deviation for certain specific events or event characteristics may bedetermined. As another example, the actual timing or length of eventsmay be compared with expected times based on the type of surgicalprocedure or event. In various embodiments, such an event-based machinelearning method may be trained using training examples, for example asdescribed above. For example, a training example may be based onhistorical data related to previous surgical procedures.

According to disclosed embodiments, a subject's tissue handling may beassessed. As used herein, tissue handling may refer to a subject'sperformance of various surgical tasks. For example, an assessment oftissue handling may include assessment of a subject's adherence to rulesor guidelines associated with handling tissues, size or placement ofincisions, suture technique (e.g., width between stitches, placement,etc.), placement of tension, other surgical techniques such asgentleness of handling tissues, sanitation techniques, or other factorsrelated to a subject's treatment of anatomical tissue. Tissue handlingassessment may also include a determination of whether the subject madeany surgical errors in tissue handling, such as rough movements, tearingtissues, injury to adjacent structures, excessive tension or forceapplied to the tissues, or failure to follow best surgical practices.Tissue handling of a subject may be identified through actions taken bythe subject during specific surgical events identified in the receivedvideo frames. The actions may be compared to reference or recommendedactions accessed, for example, in accessed stored data based on priorsurgical procedures. For example, the reference actions may indicate areference size for the degree of tension placed on the tissue. Thesubject's actions identified from the received video frames (e.g., anincision length) may be compared to reference incision size. As anexample, if there is no injury to adjacent structures, or no unnecessarybleeding, or appropriate traction applied, the subject may be assigned arelatively high competency-related score, as described in greater detailbelow. By contrast, if there is unnecessary bleeding or unnecessarytearing of tissues, the subject may be assigned a relatively lowercompetency-related score, as described in greater detail below. Thetissue handling may be assessed using artificial intelligence trained onimage data. For example, a machine learning model may be trained usingtraining examples to assess tissue handling from surgical footage, andthe trained machine learning model may be used to analyze the pluralityof video frames and generate the assessment of the subject's tissuehandling. An example of such training example may include surgicalfootage from a particular prior surgical procedure, together with alabel indicating a desired assessment for the tissue handling in theparticular prior surgical procedure.

In some embodiments, a subject's economy of motion may be assessed. Asused herein, economy of motion may refer to an efficiency of thesubject's movements or an indication of the subject's dexterity during asurgical procedure. Various actions taken by the subject may beidentified from the received video frames and used to assess thesubject's economy of motion. As an example, an action may includeoptimizing the field of view and exposure of tissues. Lack of exposuremay impair a surgeon's ability to visualize and perform surgeryoptimally. If the subject takes a relatively long time to expose thefield of view, the subject may receive a relatively lower economy ofmotion assessment. If the subject uses only one hand, withoutcoordination with the less dominant hand, subject may receive arelatively lower economy of motion assessment. Such an economy of motionassessment may be made by comparing actions of the subject to referenceaction data, for example, included in the accessed stored data based onprior surgical procedures. Such reference data may include various datarelated to efficiency of the subject motion or dexterity, such as butnot limited to, length of time to perform a given action, the relativeamount of movement performed by the subject when taking a certainaction, a number of movements needed to perform an action, a speed ofmovements of the subject, an indication of movements considered to benormal for a given action, an indication of movement considered to beanomalous for a given action, a number of movements over the course of asurgical procedure, or other factors indicating an efficiency ofmovement of the subject or the subject's level of dexterity. Suchfactors may be compared to corresponding thresholds, which may indicateif the subject makes excess movements during the procedure. Excessmovements or inefficiency of movements may reduce the subject'scompetency-related score, as described in greater detail below. Economyof motion may be assessed using artificial intelligence trained on imagedata. For example, a machine learning model may be trained usingtraining examples to assess economy of motion from surgical footage, andthe trained machine learning model may be used to analyze the pluralityof video frames and generate the assessment of the subject's economy ofmotion. An example of such training example may include surgical footagefrom a particular prior surgical procedure, together with a labelindicating a desired assessment for the economy of motion in theparticular prior surgical procedure.

Disclosed embodiments may include assessing the depth perception of thesubject. Depth perception may refer to the ability of the subject tojudge the distance or locations of objects in three dimensions. Forexample, depth perception in surgery may be important for makingaccurate incisions of a certain depth. Incisions that are too deep mayunnecessarily damage tissue that should not be damaged during a surgicaloperation. However, incisions of insufficient depth may requireadditional cuts, thus decreasing the efficiency of the operation andpotentially increasing the time required to complete the operation, aswell as placing additional stress on the patient. As an example, ofdepth perception assessment, an estimated incision depth may bedetermined from the received video frames. This incision depth may becompared to a recommended incision depth for the incision based on thesurgical procedure. The recommended depth may be included in, forexample, the accessed stored data based on prior surgical procedures.The estimated depth based on the received video frames may be comparedto a threshold depth based on the recommended depth. If the estimateddepth is within the threshold depth, the subject may be assigned arelatively high competency-related score, as described in greater detailbelow. By contrast, if the estimated depth is not within the thresholddepth (i.e., the incision is too deep or too shallow), the subject maybe assigned a relatively lower competency-related score, as described ingreater detail below. Depth perception may be assessed using artificialintelligence trained on image data. For example, a machine learningmodel may be trained using training examples to assess depth perceptionfrom surgical footage, and the trained machine learning model may beused to analyze the plurality of video frames and generate theassessment of the subject's depth perception. An example of suchtraining example may include surgical footage from a particular priorsurgical procedure, together with a label indicating a desiredassessment for the depth perception in the particular prior surgicalprocedure. In some examples, the assessment of the subject's depthperception may be based on indication of the efficiency of subject'sdepth perception, such as but not limited to, overshooting a givenaction, time to correct a faulty movement, the number of times a subjectmisses a target, and so forth.

Consistent with disclosed embodiments, a subject's surgical procedureflow may be assessed. Surgical procedure flow may refer to the sequenceor timing of intraoperative steps or actions taken by the subject duringa surgical procedure. Surgical procedure flow may be assessed byidentifying a surgical procedure flow of the surgical procedure based onthe received video frames and comparing to the identified surgicalprocedure flow to an expected flow. For example, using techniquesdescribed herein, a series of intraoperative steps may be identifiedfrom the received video frames. Additionally, timings associated withthe steps may be determined based on the video frames using disclosedtechniques. A type of the surgical procedure may also be identified. Asdescribed herein, different types of surgical procedures may havepreferred or required orders of steps and step timings. Accordingly, theidentified intraoperative steps and timings may be compared against arecommended sequence of steps based on an identified type of thesurgical procedure. For example, a recommended sequence of steps of acataract surgery may include povidone-iodine injection, cornealincision, capsulorhexis, phaco-emulsification, cortical aspiration,intraocular lens implantation, intraocular-lens adjustment, woundsealing, and so forth. If video frames of a subject performing such acataract surgery show an order of steps including povidone-iodineinjection, a first corneal incision, a first wound sealing, a secondcorneal incision, capsulorhexis, phaco-emulsification, corticalaspiration, intraocular lens implantation, and a second wound sealing,significant deviations between such a sequence of steps and therecommended sequence of steps. The determined deviations between theactual sequence of steps from the received video frames and therecommended sequence of steps may influence a competency-related scorefor the subject, as described in greater detail below. For example, suchsignificant deviations (e.g., here including steps performed out oforder or unnecessary repetition of steps) may indicate a relativelylower competency level of the subject performing the actions.

Surgical flow may also involve recognition of adverse events orcomplications. The presence or absence of certain events orcomplications may also affect a subject's competency assessment andcorresponding scores. For example, significant bleeding may indicate arelatively lower competency level of the subject, and accordingly, alower competency-related score. Surgical flow may be assessed usingartificial intelligence trained on image data. For example, a machinelearning model may be trained using training examples to assess surgicalprocedure flow from surgical footage, and the trained machine learningmodel may be used to analyze the plurality of video frames and generatethe assessment of the subject's surgical procedure flow. An example ofsuch training example may include surgical footage from a particularprior surgical procedure, together with a label indicating a desiredassessment for the surgical procedure flow in the particular priorsurgical procedure.

Disclosed embodiments may involve calculating at least one convolutionof at least part of at least one of the plurality of video frames. Sucha convolution may include a mathematical operation which provides a wayof multiplying together two arrays of numbers, generally of differentsizes to produce a third array of numbers. For example, in the case thetwo arrays of numbers are of the same dimensionality, the third array ofnumbers would be of the same dimensionality. As described herein, aconvolution may be used as part of an image analysis to analyze thedata. The accessed stored data may be used to analyze the calculated atleast one convolution. For example, the stored data may be compared tothe calculated convolution to look for deviations from reference actionsor other indications of the subject's surgical performance. Accordingly,the method may include using the analysis of the calculated at least oneconvolution to assess the at least one of tissue handling, economy ofmotion, depth perception and surgical procedure flow in the plurality ofvideo frames.

Some disclosed embodiments may involve determining at least in part fromthe plurality of video frames an identity of the subject. An identity ofthe subject may include the subject's name, title, identification nameor number, profile, or other information used to identify the subject.The subject's identity may be determined based on at least one of a userinput, an associated medical record, facial recognition, voicerecognition, or an output of a personnel tracking system. For example, amedical record associated with the patient may indicate the name of thesurgeon performing the surgery. As another example, personnel within ahospital or other medical setting may have keycards or personal trackersthat could be part of personnel tracking system. Accordingly, thesubject's identity may be determined based on, for example, thesubject's location within the surgical room.

Disclosed embodiments may involve receiving audio signals associatedwith the surgical procedure and to determine a level of subject autonomybased at least in part on the audio signals. For example, the audiosignals may include verbal communications between various members of asurgical team in a surgical room. The number or nature of thecommunications may indicate a level of autonomy of the surgeon. As anexample, a surgeon asking multiple questions to team members throughoutthe surgical procedure may indicate that the surgeon is less experiencedand less autonomous than a surgeon who asks no questions during aprocedure. By way of another example, a supervising surgeon providingregular or otherwise significant verbal direction to an operatingsurgeon may be an indicator that the operating surgeon has a lower levelof autonomy. The system may assess the substance of the verbalinteractions to differentiate between non-directional exchanges anddirectional instructions or guidance.

Disclosed embodiments may involve, based on the assessment of at leastone of tissue handling, economy of motion, depth perception and surgicalprocedure flow, generating a competency-related score for a subject. Acompetency-related score may take the form of a numerical score on adefined scale (e.g., a scale of 1-10 or 0-25), a percentage, a relativelevel (e.g., a low, medium, or high competency level), or othercomparative score or level. A competency-related score may indicate alevel of competency or skill of a subject. A highly skilled surgeon mayhave a relatively high competency-related score. By contrast, a newsurgical resident with less training may have a relatively lowcompetency-related score. The competency-related score may be generatedbased on the assessment of at least one of tissue handling, economy ofmotion, depth perception or surgical procedure flow.

Consistent with disclosed embodiments, a competency score may be basedon a subject's economy of motion assessment. As an example, a subjectmay take actions during the course of a surgical procedure which may beanalyzed by, for example, a machine learning algorithm. The algorithmmay identify the actions associated with the surgeon's economy of motionand assign a competency-related score based on the analysis of theidentified actions. For example, the actions may include the creation ofan incision. The time it takes for the subject to make the incision mayinfluence the subject's economy of motion score. If the subject takes arelatively long time to make a short incision, the subject may receive arelatively lower economy of motion assessment. Such an economy of motionassessment may be made by comparing actions of the subject to referenceaction data, for example, included in the accessed stored data based onprior surgical procedures. Assessments and competency-related scores maybe based on reference data, for example, a group of actions by anaverage or reference-level surgeon. As described above, such referencedata may include various data related to efficiency of the subjectmotion or dexterity, such as but not limited to, length of time toperform a given action, the relative amount of movement performed by thesubject when taking a certain action, a number of movements needed toperform an action, a speed of movements of the subject, an indication ofmovements considered to be normal for a given action, an indication ofmovement considered to be anomalous for a given action, a number ofmovements over the course of a surgical procedure, or other factorsindicating an efficiency of movement of the subject or the subject'slevel of dexterity. Such factors may be compared to correspondingthresholds, which may indicate if the subject makes excess movementsduring the procedure. For example, if a surgeon exceeds a thresholdlevel of movements while performing a certain action, the surgeon'scompetency-related score may be reduced.

Disclosed embodiments may include basing a competency score on the depthperception assessment of the subject. As an example, during a surgicalprocedure, a subject may make an incision. A machine learning model mayrecognize the making of the incision from the received video frames andestimate an incision depth. This incision depth may be compared to arecommended incision depth for the incision based on the type ofparticular surgical procedure being performed. The recommended depth maybe included in, for example, the accessed stored data based on priorsurgical procedures. The estimated depth based on the received videoframes may be compared to a threshold depth based on the recommendeddepth. If the estimated depth is within the threshold depth, the subjectmay be assigned a relatively high competency-related score (e.g., a 5out of 5 depending on the amount of difference from the recommendeddepth). By contrast, if the estimated depth is not within the thresholddepth (i.e., the incision is too deep or too shallow), the subject maybe assigned a relatively lower competency-related score (e.g., a 2 outof 5 depending on the degree of difference from the recommended depth).

Consistent with disclosed embodiments, a subject's competency-relatedscore may be based on the subject's surgical procedure flow assessment.Surgical procedure flow may refer to the sequence or timing ofintraoperative events or actions taken by the subject during a surgicalprocedure. Surgical procedure flow may be assessed by identifying asurgical procedure flow of the surgical procedure based on the receivedvideo frames and comparing to the identified surgical procedure flow toan expected flow. For example, using techniques described herein, aseries of intraoperative events may be identified from the receivedvideo frames. Additionally, timings associated with the events may bedetermined based on the video frames using disclosed techniques. A typeof the surgical procedure may also be identified. As described herein,different types of surgical procedures may have preferred or requiredorders of events and event timings. Accordingly, the identifiedintraoperative events and timings may be compared against a recommendedsequence of events based on an identified type of the surgicalprocedure. For example, a recommended sequence of events of a cataractsurgery may include povidone-iodine injection, corneal incision,capsulorhexis, phaco-emulsification, cortical aspiration, intraocularlens implantation, intraocular-lens adjustment, wound sealing, and soforth. Video frames of a subject performing such a cataract surgery mayshow an order of events including povidone-iodine injection, a firstcorneal incision, a first wound sealing, a second corneal incision,capsulorhexis, phaco-emulsification, cortical aspiration, intraocularlens implantation, and a second wound sealing. In this example, thesignificant deviations between such a sequence of events and therecommended sequence of events may be recognized. Accordingly, a lowercompetency-related score may be assigned (e.g., a 1 out of 5).Conversely, if the subject were to perform a cataract surgery performingonly the recommended steps in the recommended order and within therecommended timing, a high competency-related score may be assigned(e.g., a 5 out of 5 or 19 out of 20).

In some embodiments, a score based on surgical flow may also involverecognition of adverse events or complications. The presence or absenceof certain events or complications may also affect a subject'scompetency assessment and corresponding scores. For example, a detectedadverse bleeding event may indicate a relatively lower competency levelof the subject, and accordingly, a lower competency-related score. Evenif the subject were to perform only the recommended steps in therecommended order and within the recommended timing, the subject'scompetency score may be lowered to account for an exceedingly largeincision or other adverse event.

Consistent with disclosed embodiments, a plurality of competency-relatedscores may be generated for a subject. Each of the plurality of scoresmay associated with a differing skill The skills may include, but arenot limited to, tissue handling, economy of motion, depth perception, orsurgical procedure flow described above. For example, for a subject aseparate competency score (e.g., out of scale of 0 to 5) may becalculated for each of the subject's tissue handling, economy of motion,depth perception, and surgical procedure flow. Thus, the subject wouldhave four separate competency-related score, one specific to each of thefour different skills.

In some embodiments, a competency-related score may include a compositescore assessing a plurality of scores. A composite score may be anaggregation or combination of multiple scores related to differentskills. Composite scores may be calculated through simple summation ofthe multiple scores, by a weighted average, or other suitable method. Asan example, a subject may be assigned four separate scores, one each fortissue handling, economy of motion, depth perception, and surgicalprocedure flow. Each on a scale of 1 to 5, the subject may receive atissue handling score of 4, an economy of motion score of 4, a depthperception score of 5, and surgical procedure flow score of 2.Accordingly, a composite for the subject may be 15 (4+4+5+2=15).Disclosed embodiments employing a plurality of scores on differentvarying aspects or skills related to a surgical procedure may permitmore complete and objective assessments of subjects.

Disclosed embodiments may include selecting, from the plurality of videoframes, at least one video clip from which the competency score wasderived. As an example, if the competency score was based on depthperception related to an incision made during the procedure, a videoclip showing creation of the incision may be selected. As anotherexample, if a competency-score based on surgical procedure flow isgenerated, a clip may be selected that shows where the subject's actionsfirst departed from the recommended surgical flow. In one example, oneor more of the plurality of video frames may not be included in the atleast one video clip.

In some embodiments, multiple video clips may be selected. As anexample, when multiple competency-related scores are generated, aselected video clip may include a plurality of video clips. Each videoclip may be associated with a differing score. Continuing the previousexamples, if both the depth perception score and surgical procedure flowscores were generated for the same subject, both clips may be selectedfor the subject.

Disclosed embodiments may involve outputting at least one score.Outputting may involve sending code from at least one processor, whereinthe code may be configured to cause the score or an interface includingthe score to be presented. In some embodiments, outputting may includetransmitting the score to an external computing device. For example,outputting the score may include transmitting the score through anetwork to a user device or other external device for viewing on theexternal device. Consistent with disclosed embodiments, outputting mayinclude storing the score in a location that may be accessible by one ormore other computing devices. Such storage locations may include a localstorage (such as a hard drive of flash memory), a network location (suchas a server or database), a cloud computing platform, or any otheraccessible storage location. Accordingly, the score may be accessed froman external device to be displayed on the external device.

Disclosed embodiments may involve updating a personnel record of thesubject with a competency score. For example, an evaluation section ofthe subject in a personnel record of the subject may be updated based onthe at least one competency score Similarly, the method may includecausing a competency score to populate an evaluation form of thesubject. An evaluation form may permit a subject to receive feedback onhis or her performance in a surgical procedure. An evaluation form maybe related to an evaluation of a particular surgical procedure, a seriesof surgical procedures, intern rotation, etc.

Disclosed embodiments may involve presenting in association with the atleast one score, a link to the at least one video clip. As describedherein, a link may be presented such that when the link is selected, thecorresponding video clip may be presented for viewing. Consistent withdisclosed embodiments, a plurality of surgical procedures may beperformed and selecting a video clip may include selecting a pluralityof video clips. Presenting a link to the videos may include presentingat least one video clip capture date in association with each of theplurality of video clips. Presenting the link may include causing adisplay of a window for playback of the at least one video clip.Accordingly, presenting the link may include causing a display ofcontrols enabling selective playback of the at least one video clip.Presenting the link may include presenting an activatable icon in agraphical user interface. When the activatable icon is selected, thewindow for playback or controls enabling playback may be presented inthe graphical user interface for viewing by the user.

Disclosed embodiments may involve classifying a surgical procedure typeassociated with the at least one video clip and presenting a controlenabling a viewer to access other video clips in which the subject ispresented, sharing the surgical procedure type. For example, thesurgical procedure type may correspond to a specific surgical skill orintraoperative event. Video clips from other surgical procedures of thesame type, depicting the same surgical skill, or intraoperative eventmay be presented. These video clips may permit, for example, a surgeonto easily compare her performance to clips of other surgeons performingthe same or similar actions.

By way of example, FIG. 17 illustrates an exemplary interface for asystem for assessing surgical competency of a subject, consistent withdisclosed embodiments. As shown in FIG. 17, interface 1700 may display avariety of information to a user. For example, interface 1700 mayinclude a name or other indication of a surgical procedure 1701 and aname or other identifier of a subject 1703. In some embodiments,interface 1700 may indicate a procedure type 1709 (e.g., a laparoscopicsurgery, an open surgery, a robotic surgery, an appendectomy, a cataractsurgery, or other type of surgical procedure). Interface 1700 may alsoprovide a link 1711 to video clips related to the procedure type 1709.Such video clips may be related to different instances of the sameprocedure type in which the same subject participated. Additionally, oralternatively, such video clips linked by link 1711 may be related toprocedures having procedure type 1709 that were performed by othersubjects. For example, such video clips may be model or reference clipsshowing a highly skilled surgeon properly executing the procedure orspecific actions related to the procedure.

While interface 1700 is shown as relating to a single subject, it ispossible for interface 1700 to convey information about more than onesubject. For example, interface 1700 may provide assessment informationabout a surgical team. As another example, interface 1700 may providetabs 1705, 1707. Each tab 1705, 1707 may correspond to a particularsubject. In other embodiments, tabs 1705, 1707 may correspond todifferent surgical procedures performed by the same subject. Forexample, interface 1700 or another interface (not shown) may demonstratetrends in a surgeon's competency by summarizing data across a number ofsurgical procedures in which the surgeon was previously involved.

Interface 1700 may include an indication of competency-related scores1713. As described herein, competency-related scores may include anoverall (e.g., composite) score, as well as individual scores related tocertain aspects of a procedure or surgical skills (e.g., tissuehandling, economy of motion, etc.). Interface 1700 may provide anindication of the type of score, the score itself, or a link to a videorelated to the score. For example, interface 1700 shows an overall scoreof 15 out of a maximum 20 and a corresponding video link. As describedabove, the link may include an activatable icon. When the activatableicon is selected, a window may open for playback and controls enablingplayback may be presented in the graphical user interface for viewing bythe user.

Interface 1700 may also include additional data links 1715. Data links1715 may correspond to a variety of other data related to the surgicalprocedure, the type of surgical procedure, the subject, actions orevents within the surgical procedure, previous assessments orperformance statistics of the subject, previous video clips of thesubject, or other suitable information. For example, links 1715 mayprovide a link to a previous assessment for the subject related to adifferent surgical procedure of the same type. As another example, links1715 may display graphs, charts, or other visuals indicating thesubject's performance over time (e.g., a line graph showing a change ina particular competency score of the subject over multiple procedures).

When a user selects a video link of interface 1700, the user may bedirected to a new window or interface presenting the video for viewing.This new window may include, for example, interface 1800 of FIG. 18.FIG. 18 is a depiction of an exemplary interface for viewing a video,consistent with disclosed embodiments. The interface may include aninterface window 1800 for playback of the at least one video clip.Accordingly, selecting a video link from interface 1700 may cause adisplay of controls enabling selective playback of the at least onevideo clip. The video may be presented in a video playback region 1801,which may sequentially display one or more frames of the video.Interface 1800 may include a timeline 1815 displayed as a horizontal barrepresenting time, with the leftmost portion of the bar representing abeginning time of the video and the rightmost portion of the barrepresenting an end time. Timeline 1815 may include a position indicator1807 indicating the current playback position of the video relative tothe timeline. Colored region 1805 of timeline 1815 may represent theprogress within timeline 1815 (e.g., corresponding to video that hasalready been viewed by the user, or to video coming before the currentlypresented frame). In some embodiments, position indicator 1807 may beinteractive, such that the user can move to different positions withinthe video by moving position indicator 1807. In some embodiments, thesurgical timeline may include markers identifying at least one of asurgical phase, an intraoperative surgical event, and a decision makingjunction. For example, timeline 1815 may further include one or moremarkers 1811, 1813, and/or 1817. Such markers may correspond to surgicalevents, decision points, or other points of interests, as describedherein. Interface 1800 may also include a control bar 1803, with a playbutton and time indication 1809.

In the example shown in FIG. 18, timeline 1815 may be displayed suchthat it overlaps video playback region 1801, either physically,temporally, or both. In some embodiments, timeline 1815 may not bedisplayed at all times. As one example, timeline 1815 may automaticallyswitch to a collapsed or hidden view while a user is viewing the videoand may return to the expanded view shown in FIG. 18 when the user takesan action to interact with timeline 1815. For example, user may move amouse pointer while viewing the video, move the mouse pointer over thecollapsed timeline, move the mouse pointer to a particular region, clickor tap the video playback region, or perform any other actions that mayindicate an intent to interact with timeline 1815. As discussed above,timeline 1815 may be displayed in various other locations relative tovideo playback region 1801, including on a top portion of video playbackregion 1801, above or below video playback region 1801, or withincontrol bar 1803. In some embodiments, timeline 1815 may be displayedseparately from a video progress bar. For example, a separate videoprogress bar, including position indicator 1807 and colored region 1805,may be displayed in control bar 1803 and timeline 1815 may be a separatetimeline of events associated with a surgical procedure. In suchembodiments, timeline 1815 may not have the same scale or range of timeas the video or the video progress bar. For example, the video progressbar may represent the time scale and range of the video, whereastimeline 1815 may represent the timeframe of the surgical procedure,which may not be the same (e.g., where the video includes a surgicalsummary, as discussed in detail above). In some embodiments, videoplayback region 1801 may include a search icon 1819, which may allow auser to search for video footage related to specific topics. Thesurgical timeline shown in FIG. 18 is provided by way of example only,and one skilled in the art would appreciate various other configurationsthat may be used.

Disclosed embodiments may involve selecting a surgical team member for aprospective surgery based on the competency-related score. As anexample, surgical team may include several different surgeons. Thesurgeons may each have different skill sets, experience levels, orcompetency levels related to certain surgical actions or procedures.Accordingly, when a surgeon is needed for a particular surgery, thesurgeon may be selected based on a comparison of the multiple surgeonsscores related to the particular surgery. For example, the surgery maybe a spinal disk replacement. Accordingly, the surgeon with the highestcompetency-related score for spinal disk replacement procedures may beselected. As another example, a surgery may be an operation to correctan injury very close to the patient's spinal cord. In such a case, thesurgeon's depth perception may be critical to avoid damage to the spinalcord during the procedure. Accordingly, a surgeon having a high depthperception score may be selected.

Disclosed embodiments may involve providing a suggestion for additionaltraining of the subject in response to a first competency-related score.For example, a surgeon with a low score corresponding to a particularskill may be sent a suggestion for additional training (e.g., classes,training videos, practice sessions, remedial lections, or other trainingor learning opportunities) related to the particular skill Upondetection of a sub-par competency score in a certain area through, forexample, the use of artificial intelligence applied to the video, thesystem might include programmed responses that include the trainingrecommendations discussed above. In response to a secondcompetency-related score, embodiments of this disclosure may forgoproviding a suggestion for additional training of the subject. That is,if the competency score is not determined to be sub-par, norecommendation may be made. Determining whether to suggest additionaltraining may be made based on a threshold score. The threshold score mayindicate whether additional training should be recommended. For example,if a particular score exceeds a threshold score, additional training maynot be recommended. In some embodiments, different threshold scores maybe assigned to different types of scores. As an example, one thresholdmay be set for depth perception scores, while another threshold may beset for tissue handling scores. Yet another threshold may be set fortissue handling scores, and a fourth threshold may be set for overall orcomposite scores.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process 1900 foranalyzing a surgical procedure and assessing surgical competency of asubject, consistent with disclosed embodiments. Process 1900 may beperformed by a computing device or a system of computing devices.Various steps of process 1900 may be executed by a processing device,such as any of the processors described throughout the presentdisclosure. It is to be understood that throughout the presentdisclosure, the term “processor” is used as a shorthand for “at leastone processor.” In other words, a processor may include one or morestructures that perform logic operations whether such structures arecollocated, connected, or disbursed. In some embodiments, anon-transitory computer readable medium may contain instructions thatwhen executed by a processor cause the processor to perform process1900. Process 1900 is not necessarily limited to the steps shown in FIG.19 and any steps or processes of the various embodiments describedthroughout the present disclosure may also be included in process 1900.

At step 1910, process 1900 may include receiving a plurality of videoframes associated with at least one surgical procedure. Receiving videoframes may be performed via a communication from a computer systemthrough a network. For example, receiving the stored data may includereceiving the video frames through an electronic transmission,retrieving the video frames from storage (e.g., a memory device), or anyother suitable process for receiving or accessing stored data. Videoframes within a set may include frames, recorded by the same capturedevice, recorded at the same facility, recorded at the same time orwithin the same timeframe, depicting surgical procedures performed onthe same patient or group of patients, depicting the same or similarsurgical procedures, or sharing any other properties or characteristics.

At step 1920, process 1900 may include accessing stored data based onprior surgical procedures. In some embodiments, the stored data may beone or more video files including historical surgical footage orhistorical data. For example, the stored data may include a series offrames captured during the prior surgical procedures. As describedherein, this stored data is not limited to video files, however. Forexample, the stored data may include information stored as textrepresenting at least one aspect of the stored surgical footage. Forexample, the stored data may include a database of informationsummarizing or otherwise referring to historical surgical footage. Thestored data may be based on prior surgical procedures. Stored data mayinclude any data derived directly or indirectly from images of previoussurgical procedures. This data may include, for example, patientcharacteristics, surgeon characteristics (e.g., a skill level), and/orsurgical procedure characteristics (e.g., an identifier of a surgicalprocedure, an expected duration of a surgical procedure). Stored datamay include correlations or other data describing statisticalrelationships between historical intraoperative surgical events andhistorical outcomes.

At step 1930, process 1900 may include processing, for example using thestored data, the plurality of video frames to assess at least one oftissue handling, economy of motion, depth perception and surgicalprocedure flow in the plurality of video frames. As described herein,processing the plurality of frames may include using a machine learningor image analysis technique. In some embodiments, trained machinelearning algorithms (e.g., artificial intelligence algorithms) may beused to analyze inputs and generate outputs, for example in the casesdescribed herein.

At step 1940, process 1900 may include, based on the assessment of atleast one of tissue handling, economy of motion, depth perception andsurgical procedure flow, generating a competency-related score for asubject. As described herein, a competency-related score may indicate arelative competency or skill level of a subject. Scores may be generatedfor individual skills, actions, etc. of the subject. In someembodiments, an overall score indicating the subject's general overallcompetency may be generated. Composite scores including an aggregationor weighted average of individual skill scores may also be generated.

At step 1950, process 1900 may include selecting, from the plurality ofvideo frames, at least one video clip from which the competency scorewas derived. As an example, if the competency score was based on depthperception related to an incision made during the procedure, a videoclip showing creation of the incision may be selected. As anotherexample, if a competency-score based on surgical procedure flow isgenerated, a clip may be selected that shows where the subject's actionsfirst departed from the recommended surgical flow.

At step 1960, process 1900 may include outputting at least one score. Insome embodiments, outputting may include transmitting the score to anexternal computing device. For example, outputting the score may includetransmitting the score through a network to a user device or otherexternal device for viewing on the external device. Consistent withdisclosed embodiments, outputting may include storing the score in alocation that may be accessible by one or more other computing devices.Accordingly, the score may be accessed from an external device to bedisplayed on the external device. In some embodiments, the method mayinclude updating a personnel record of the subject with the competencyscore. Consistent with disclosed embodiments, the method may includepresenting in association with the score, a link to at least one videoclip.

At step 1970, process 1900 may include presenting in association withthe at least one score, a link to the at least one video clip. Asdescribed herein, a link may be presented such that when the link isselected, the corresponding video clip may be presented for viewing. Asdescribed herein, the score and link may be presented, for example, inan interface in which a user may view the score and actuate the link toview the corresponding video. According to disclosed embodiments, themethod may further include classifying a surgical procedure typeassociated with the video clip and presenting a control enabling aviewer to access other video clips in which the subject is presentedsharing the surgical procedure type.

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to systems, computer readablemedia, and methods for aggregating and analyzing medical information. Inparticular, aspects of the disclosure involve analyzing time andlocation information associated with a piece of medical equipment toassociate medical information with a patient medical record.

When capturing medical data during a medical procedure, correctidentification of a room or a space corresponding to the medical datamay be valuable and even necessary for properly correlating captureddata. For example, the identity of an operation room may be used inconjunction with scheduling information to determine a case number, atype of medical procedure, a patient undergoing the medical procedure, ahealthcare professional performing he medical procedure, and so forth.Accordingly, the captured medical data may be automatically linked withother medical information.

In many instances, the medical equipment used to capture this medicaldata, such as laparoscopic towers or other equipment, are used inmultiple rooms. For example, some medical devices may be hand-held ormay be placed on carts for easy transfer between rooms. Thus, multiplerooms may share a common piece of equipment, or if equipment in one roommalfunctions, equipment from other rooms may be brought in as a backup.As a result, identifying the equipment alone may be insufficient forproperly linking the captured medical data with a patient or otherentity. Therefore, there is a need for unconventional approaches toautomatically determine an operating room location for linking medicaldata with the correct patient medical record or other information abouta medical procedure.

Aspects of this disclosure may relate to receiving medical informationfrom a piece of medical equipment and associating the medicalinformation with a particular medical record. Accordingly, the medicalinformation may be made accessible through access to the medical record.In particular, the present disclosure may include receiving location andtime information associated with the medical equipment. The location andtime information may then be used to determine an identity of aparticular patient associated with the medical information, which maythen be used to identify the medical record.

This may be particularly applicable in instances for informationcaptured by mobile equipment. For example, the equipment may behand-held or may be placed on a cart in order to be easily transferredbetween rooms. Accordingly, identifying the equipment alone may not besufficient to associate medical data with the correct patient or medicalrecord. Further, performing this form of electronic analysis andaggregation of data may not feasibly be performed manually. For example,a medical facility may have hundreds of associated patients undergoingmedical procedures at any given time. Because the data may need to beanalyzed in real time to provide meaningful insights, manually trackingschedules and equipment locations to identify associated patients orpatient medical records may be an unsurmountable task. Therefore, thedisclosed techniques for linking time and location information tomedical data described herein overcome several technological problemsrelating to efficiency, convenience, and functionality in the field ofmedical data capturing and analysis.

For ease of discussion, in some instances, a method is described belowwith the understanding that aspects of the method apply to systems,devices, and computer readable media. For example, some aspects of sucha method may occur electronically over a network that is either wired,wireless, or both. Other aspects of such a method may occur usingnon-electronic means. In a broadest sense, the method is not limited toparticular physical and/or electronic instrumentalities, but rather maybe accomplished using many differing instrumentalities. Collectively andindividually, systems, devices, and computer readable media disclosedherein are referred to generally as “embodiments.”

Aspects of the present disclosure may involve receiving an identifier(ID) of a piece of equipment in a medical facility. As used herein, apiece of medical equipment may refer to any apparatus, instrument, tool,or other device used as part of a medical procedure. For example, thepiece of medical equipment may include, but is not limited to a bloodpressure monitor, a ventilator, an anesthesia delivery machine, anoxygen concentrator, a sleep apnea machine, a kidney dialysis machine,an infusion pump, an insulin pump, a blood analyzer, a respiratorymonitoring machine, and a fluid management system. Other examplesmedical equipment may include cutting instruments (such as scalpels,scissors, or saws), grasping and/or holding instruments (such asBillroth's clamps, hemostatic “mosquito” forceps, atraumatic hemostaticforceps, Deschamp's needle, or Hopfner's hemostatic forceps), retractors(such as Farabef's Cshaped laminar hook, blunt-toothed hook,sharp-toothed hook, grooved probe, or tamp forceps), tissue unifyinginstruments and/or materials (such as needle holders, surgical needles,staplers, clips, adhesive tapes, or a mesh), protective equipment (suchas facial and/or respiratory protective equipment, headwear, orfootwear), laparoscopes, endoscopes, patient monitoring devices, and soforth. In some embodiments, the piece of medical equipment may beconfigured to capture medical information during a medical procedure.Some non-limiting examples of such medical information may includesensor data, image data, video data, audio data, or other forms ofinformation as described in greater detail below. In some embodiments,the piece of medical equipment may include at least one image sensorconfigured to capture images and/or videos.

Consistent with some embodiments described herein, the piece of medicalequipment may be movable from between spaces in the medical facility.For example, the piece of medical equipment may be a handheld device orapparatus that may be carried by an individual between multiple spaces.As another example, the piece of medical equipment may have wheels(either integral to the medical equipment or by virtue of the medicalequipment being placed on a cart or other wheeled apparatus) such thatthe piece of medical equipment may be rolled between spaces. Variousother mechanisms for moving the piece of medical equipment may be used,such as a track system, a drone, a pulley system, a swivel system, orthe like.

The ID of the piece of medical equipment may be any form of informationthat may identify a particular piece of equipment. In some embodiments,the ID may be contained within an active or passive electronic tagincluded as original equipment with a piece of medical equipment or atag added later. A database, lookup table, or other data structure maycorrelate a particular assigned tag with a particular piece of medicalequipment. An ID of the piece of equipment may additionally oralternatively include a unique identifier of the piece of equipment. Forexample, the unique identifier may be an alphanumerical serial numberassociated with a particular piece of equipment, a numerical identifier(for example, a binary number, a decimal number, a hexadecimal number,etc.), a digital identifier, and so forth. The unique identifier may beassigned by a manufacturer of the equipment, or may be assigned by aparticular medical facility or organization. In some embodiments, theunique identifier may be a randomly or semi-randomly generatedidentifier. Alternatively, or additionally, the unique identifier may begenerated according to a numbering scheme. For example, equipment withina medical facility may be assigned identifiers incrementally,sequentially, etc. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the uniqueidentifier may be based on information associated with the piece ofequipment, such as a floor number, building number, model number,manufacturer, equipment type, or other information associated with theequipment. For example, a piece of equipment generally assigned to Floor6 of Building 3 of a medical facility may have a unique identifier inthe format of “B3-FL06-XXXXX.”

As another example, the ID of the piece of equipment may includeinformation indicating a type of the piece of equipment. For example,the type may include a make, model, manufacturer, an equipment category(e.g., ventilator, dialysis machine, etc.), or similar information thatmay be associated with a particular type of equipment. In someembodiments, the ID of the piece of equipment may include a versionnumber associated with the equipment. For example, this may include ahardware version, a date of manufacture of the equipment, a version ofsoftware installed on the piece of medical equipment, a date ofinstallation of the software, or any other information that may indicatea version. Alternatively, or additionally, the ID may include variousother attributes or characteristics that may be used to identify thepiece of equipment, such as a size, configuration, maintenance date,battery percentage or performance, operating frequency, response time,acoustic signal, or various other characteristics that may be unique orat least semi-unique to a piece of equipment.

The disclosed embodiments may further involve receiving locationinformation for the piece of equipment. As used herein, locationinformation may refer to any information indicating the relative or theabsolute position of a piece of equipment within a medical facility. Asdescribed above, the location information may identify a space in whichthe piece of medical equipment is located. As used herein, a space maynot necessarily be a room but may include other areas, such as ahallway, a doorway, an entryway, a stairway, a station, or other spaces.In some embodiments, a space may be an area or region within a room. Forexample, a room may include multiple similar pieces of medical equipmentand the location information may specify a particular location or regionwithin a room where the equipment is placed. In some embodiments, thepiece of medical equipment may be common to a single room havingmultiple spaces. For example, an operating room may include multipleoperating tables or other facilities for performing medical operations,and the piece of medical equipment may be on a track or swivel systemsuch that it may be used in more than one space within the operatingroom. Accordingly, the location information may specify which spacewithin the room the piece of medical equipment is being used with.

The location information may be represented in a variety of differentformats. In some embodiments, the location may be determined by one ormore indoor positioning systems. Such systems may employ proximitysensors, WiFi sensors, ultra-wide band sensors, acoustic sensors,infrared sensors, and/or any other type of sensor enabling a location oran approximate location to be determined. Similarly, the location may bebased on satellite data, such as a Global Navigation Satellite System(GNSS). This may involve, for example, an indoor GPS repeater. Forexample, the piece of medical equipment may include a Global PositioningSystem (GPS) receiver configured to determine a location based ontriangulation of information received from a plurality of satellites.Other examples of GNSS that may be similarly affected include Galileo,Globalnaya Navigazionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema (GLONASS), and the BeiDouNavigation Satellite System (BDS).

In some instances, GPS data may be insufficient for determining alocation of the medical equipment, for example, when the equipment islocated indoor. Accordingly, various other techniques, such as theindoor positioning systems described earlier, may be used fordetermining a location. In such embodiments, the location may bedetermined based on a positioning system within the medical facility,which may use a beacon device or other form of transceiver device, suchas wireless transmitter 145 (which may equally be configured to receivetransmitted signals, as described above). For example, the piece ofequipment may include at least one transmitter configured to transmitlocation signals to at least one receiver associated with the location.The receiver may be any device capable of receiving wireless signalstransmitted by the medical device. The signals may be transmittedthrough various formats or protocols. For example, this may includeBluetooth®, infrared light, near-field communication (NFC),ultra-wideband, ZigBee®, Z-Wave®, WiFi, ultrasonic signals, audiblesignals, or any other mechanism or protocol through which at leastone-way communication may be established. The signal may be apredetermined ping or other standardized signal, which may be detectedby the receiver. In some embodiments, the signal may include identifyinginformation of the piece of equipment, such as the ID described above.

The received location information may be determined based on the signalsdetected by the at least one receiver. For example, the receiver may beinstalled in an operating room and when the piece of medical equipmenttransmits the signal to the receiver, the signal detected at thereceiver may indicate the presence of the piece of medical equipment inthe room. This may be based on detection of the signal alone, or basedon other factors, such as the strength of the signal, a wavelength ofthe signal, a clarity of the signal, a timing of the signal, or othercharacteristics. In some embodiments, the receiver may be connected to acentral system (e.g., a server or other computing device associated withthe medical facility, a remote server or computing device, etc.) and thereceiver may report the detected location to the piece of medicalequipment to the central system. For example, the receiver may beassociated with an identifier and the receiver may transmit a signalincluding the identifier which may indicate the piece of medicalequipment is detected in proximity to the receiver. In embodiments wherethe signal includes identifying information for the piece of medicalequipment, the identifying information may also be transmitted by thereceiver.

In some embodiments, the location information may be based on signalsreceived at multiple receivers positioned in the medical facility. Forexample, the signal may be received at multiple receivers located in themedical facility and the system may determine the location informationbased on triangulation or other location techniques. Triangulation orother techniques may be based on timings of received signals, signalstrengths or other attributes of signals received at the receivers, asdescribed above. In one example, one or more beacons and/or receiversthat are nearest to the medical equipment (of a plurality of beaconsand/or receivers) may be identified, for example based on comparison ofsignal strength, comparison of time of arrival, and so forth, and thelocation information may be based on the identified nearest one or morebeacons and/or receivers.

Conversely, the piece of medical equipment may be configured to receivesignals from a beacon device or other form of transmitter for purposesof determining a location. For example, an operating room may include atransmitter, such as wireless transmitter 145, and the piece of medicalequipment may determine a location based on receipt of a signaltransmitted by the transmitter. Accordingly, the piece of medicalequipment may be configured to transmit the determined location alongwith captured medical data. As described above, the location may bedetermined based on detection of the signal alone, or based on otherfactors, such as the strength of the signal, a wavelength of the signal,a clarity of the signal, a timing of the signal, or othercharacteristics. In some embodiments, the transmitters in the medicalfacility may transmit an identifier or other means for the piece ofmedical equipment to determine the transmitter from which the signal isreceived. As described above, the location information may be determinedbased on triangulation of signals received from multiple transmitters.According to some embodiments, the location information may bedetermined based on two-way communication between receivers andtransmitters. For example, the piece of medical equipment may pingbeacon devices positioned throughout the medical facility and mayreceive signals for determining location in return, or vice versa.

As another example, the location information may be determined based oncaptured images associated with the piece of medical equipment. Forexample, the piece of equipment may include at least one image sensorand the location information may include image data captured by theimage sensor. As described generally throughout the present disclosure,the image sensor may be any device capable of capturing and processinglight signals from within an environment, such as a camera or LiDARsensor. The disclosed methods may include processing the image data todetermine an identity of a space corresponding to the location. Forexample, an operating room may have distinguishing characteristics suchas equipment placement (e.g., operating tables, furniture, lights,devices, or other equipment), room layout (e.g., based on the placementof windows, walls or doors; room dimensions, room shape; ceilingcontours, or other layout properties), color (e.g., paint color,equipment color, etc.), lighting properties, individuals within the room(e.g., physicians, nurses, technicians, etc.), equipment types orcombinations of equipment, types of medical procedures being performed,artwork, patterns, or other visual characteristics that may distinguisha space from other spaces in a medical facility. In some embodiments,the space may include a tag or other distinguishing feature unique tothe space. For example, determining the location information may includeanalyzing one or more images to detect a room number, room name, ascannable code (e.g., a barcode, a quick response (QR) code, an encodedimage, a proprietary code, or similar formats), or other visual tagsthat may be used to identify a room. For example, a piece of medicalequipment may include a receiver, and a room may contain a passive oractive tag from which the piece of medical equipment can determine itsown location.

In some embodiments, the images may be captured by an image sensorseparate from the piece of medical equipment. For example, a room orother space may include a camera or other sensor configured to captureimages within the space. The disclosed methods may include analyzing theimages to detect representations of pieces of equipment within thecaptured images of the room. For example, the system may detect aparticular piece of equipment based on visual characteristics of theequipment, such as the shape, color, texture, size, or other propertiesof the equipment. As another example, the equipment may include a tagwith a barcode, QR code, alphanumerical identifier, or other informationthat may be detected in the images

The location information may be received based on various timings ortriggers. In some embodiments, the location information may be receivedperiodically, for example, every few seconds, every few minutes, hourly,daily, weekly, or based on other suitable intervals. As another example,the location information may be received based on a detected change inlocation. For example, the piece of medical equipment or an externaldevice may periodically determine a position of the equipment using thetechniques described above and may only transmit the locationinformation upon detecting a change from a previous location. In someembodiments, the location information may be received based on triggersassociated with a medical procedure, such as the beginning of aprocedure, the end of a procedure, a detected intraoperative eventduring the procedure, or various other triggers. As another example, thelocation information may be triggered manually, for example, by amedical professional, a patient, an administrator, or other individuals.

Disclosed embodiments may involve receiving medical information capturedby the piece of equipment during a medical procedure. As used herein, amedical procedure may be any operation or course of action associatedwith healthcare of a patient. For example, a medical procedure mayinclude a propaedeutic procedure (e.g., inspection, auscultation,palpation, percussion, measurement), a diagnostic procedure (e.g., a labtest, an endoscopy, an electrocardiogram, medical imaging, neuroimaging,an evoked potential test, posturography, or other tests), a therapy(e.g., nebulization, electrotherapy, laser therapy, radiation therapy,chemotherapy, hemodialysis, or other treatments), anesthesia, or otherprocedures. In some embodiments, the medical procedure may include asurgical procedure as described throughout the present disclosure. Forexample, the medical procedure may include one or more of surgeries,repairs, ablations, replacements, implantations, extractions,treatments, restrictions, re-routing, and blockage removal. Suchprocedures may involve cutting, abrading, suturing, extracting, lancingor any other technique that involves physically changing body tissuesand/or organs. In some embodiments, the medical procedure may be aveterinary procedure and the medical professional performing theprocedure may be a veterinarian.

The medical information may include any data or information captured bya piece of equipment during the medical procedure. In some embodiments,the medical information may include a reading or measurement from asensor associated with the piece of medical equipment. For example, thepiece of equipment may be configured to capture a vital sign of apatient and the captured medical information may include the vital sign.For example, the vital sign may include a body temperature, a bloodpressure, a pulse (heart rate), a breathing rate (respiratory rate), apain level, a menstrual cycle, an oxygen saturation, a blood glucoselevel, or various other vital signs. The captured medical informationmay include other measurements that may be associated with a patient ora physical feature of a patient, such as a height, a weight, a width, adistance, a density, a rate, a temperature, a frequency, a volume, ahardness, an amplitude, a duration, an electrical current, a luminosity,or various other measurements.

As another example, the medical information may include image data of aprocedure performed on the particular patient. In some embodiments, theimage data may include video footage of the medical procedure. Forexample, the medical procedure may include a surgical procedure, and themedical information may include footage of the surgical procedure. Thedisclosed systems may analyze image data (e.g., included in the videofootage) to monitor, track, report, assess, or otherwise evaluatevarious aspects of a procedure. For example, the system may detectintraoperative events that occur during a medical procedure. Variousexamples of surgical footage and other forms of image data are describedin greater detail throughout the present disclosure.

The disclosed embodiments may involve ascertaining a time of informationcapture by the piece of equipment. The time may be determined based on aclock associated with one or more devices of the system. For example,the time may be determined based on a quartz crystal oscillator andassociated circuitry or other time-keeping hardware included within thepiece of medical equipment. In some embodiments, the time may bedetermined, at least in part, based on external information, such asWiFi or other network data. Accordingly, the medical information may beassociated with a timestamp or other information indicating a time ofcapture. In some embodiments, the time may be determined based on aclock associated with another device, such as a central computing devicethat receives the medical information. For example, the time of capturemay be estimated based on the time it is received.

The disclosed embodiments may further involve accessing at least onedata record. A data record may be any form of electronic data thatassociates scheduled medical procedures with locations of medicalprocedures and patient information. In some embodiments, the data recordmay be a calendar indicating scheduled medical procedures and associatedrooms where the procedures will be performed. For example, this mayinclude medical facility scheduling software assigning patients tospaces at particular times. The data record may be represented in otherdata formats, such as a database, table, array, spreadsheet, list, orvarious other data structures, as defined throughout the presentdisclosure. The data record may include other information, such as aphysician, surgeon, or other medical professional performing theprocedure, a nurse, technician, or other support staff involved with theprocedure, a type of procedure being performed, equipment associatedwith the procedure, patient data (e.g., diagnosis data, past treatments,medications, etc.), adjacent scheduled procedures (e.g., temporally, inneighboring spaces, etc.), expected duration, contingent locations forperforming the procedure, or the like.

Disclosed embodiments may further involve performing a look-up in thedata record to determine an identity of a particular patient assigned toa location associated with the location information. For example, theparticular patient may be a patient scheduled to undergo a medicalprocedure in the location associated with the location information. Thelook up may be performed using the location information and theascertained time. For example, the disclosed embodiments may includecross-referencing the location information and the ascertained time witha data record to identify a procedure scheduled to occur within thespecified location at the specified time. Accordingly, the system maydetermine the particular patient is likely the subject of the medicalinformation captured during the medical procedure. By way ofnon-limiting example, if a patient (or the use of medical equipment) isdetected in a particular operating room, a system may perform a look-upin a scheduling database for the identity of a patient scheduled to bein that particular operating room at that particular time. Thereafter,the data derived from the medical equipment in that space may beassociated with that particular patient's electronic medical record.

Consistent with the present disclosure, the identity of the patient maybe determined using various other forms of wireless transmitters and/orreceivers. For example, a wireless transceiver may be worn by aphysician or other medical professional in the space where the medicalprocedure is being performed. For example, wireless transmitter 145 maybe worn by a surgeon and may transmit a signal that is received by thepiece of medical equipment. The signal may include an identifierassociated with the surgeon which may be used to perform the look updescribed above. For example, the system may look up a schedule of thesurgeon along with a time of capture to determine a particular patientassigned to the surgeon at the time of capture. Alternatively, oradditionally, the piece of medical equipment may transmit a signal to awireless receiver worn by the medical professional, which may be used tocorrelate the data captured by the medical equipment to a particularmedical professional. For example, the wireless transmitter worn by themedical professional may transmit the ID of the piece of medicalequipment along with a medical professional identifier to a centralsystem for performing a lookup function. Multifactor identification maybe employed in that more than one piece of information may need to alignwith existing records in order to verify a patient in a space. Forexample, the presence of both an assigned surgeon and one or more otherassigned medical professionals (or pieces of medical equipment)scheduled to be with a particular patient during a particular time inthe particular space may be used to enhance identity verification.

As another example, a wireless transmitter or receiver may be worn by apatient, which may verify the patient's ID. The piece of medicalequipment may transmit a signal including the ID of the piece of medicalequipment to a wireless receiver worn by the patient to therebyassociate the data captured by the equipment to a particular patient.Similarly, a wireless transmitter worn by the patient may transmit asignal to the equipment. For example, the signal may include a patientID, which may be used to identify a particular patient.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may further include accessing amedical record data structure. As described throughout the presentdisclosure, a data structure may include any collection of data valuesand relationships among them. Accordingly, the medical record datastructure may indicate relationships between patients and associatedmedical records. For example, the data structure may include a databaseof patients and associated patient medical records. As used herein, amedical record may include any form of structured or unstructured datadocumenting a patient's care over time. In some embodiments, eachpatient in the medical record data structure may be associated with oneor more medical records. For example, a physician associated with thepatient, a nurse associated with the patient, a specialist associatedwith the patient, or the like, may each generate a separate medicalrecord for the patient. Alternatively, each patient may be associatedwith a single aggregated medical record including data from one or moresources. One or more records may be collated and/or stored in the samedata structure, or the one or more records may be distributed across aplurality of data structures. The records may be stored and/orrepresented a plurality of electronic data formats. For example, thepatient records may be represented as one or more electronic files, suchas text files, portable document format (PDF) files, extensible markuplanguage (XML) files, or the like. The medical record data structure mayinclude the medical records themselves, or may include links, locationinformation, or other data suitable for identifying or accessing themedical records.

Disclosed embodiments may further involve performing a lookup in themedical record data structure to identify a medical record of theparticular patient. For example, the lookup may be performed using theidentity of the particular patient determined in any of the exemplaryways described above. In some embodiments, the look up may be performedusing a name of the patient. For example, the data record describedabove may indicate a patient name and the look up may be performed usingthe determined patient name. Various other information identifying apatient may be used as the patient's identity. For example, the identityof the particular patient may include an anonymized patient ID, such asan alphanumeric string assigned to the patient. The patient ID may be anidentifier assigned to the patient by the medical facility or a medicalsystem or organization, or may be a global identifier. Performing alookup in the medical record data structure to identify a medical recordof the particular patient includes using the anonymized ID to locate themedical record of the particular patient. Various other forms of patientidentifiers may be used, such as a data of birth, a phone number, anaddress, a social security number, or other data that may be tied to theidentity of a particular patient.

Further, disclosed embodiments may involve establishing an associationbetween the medical information captured by the piece of equipment andat least some information in the medical record of the particularpatient. Accordingly, establishing the association may enable access tothe medical information captured by the piece of equipment throughaccess to the medical record of the particular patient. In someembodiments, establishing the association may include adding or writingdata to the medical record. For example, as described above, thecaptured medical information may include image data of a procedureperformed on the particular patient. Accordingly, establishing theassociation may include storing at least part of the image data in themedical record. For example, this may include storing an image, aplurality of images (e.g., a series of consecutive images, a group ofselected images, etc.), a video clip, or other forms of image data inthe medical record. This may include storing the image data in a rawformat, a processed format, a compressed format, a report format, or anyother suitable format.

As another example, establishing the association may include embedding alink in the medical record to connect to the medical information fromanother data source. For example, as described above, the medicalinformation may include a vital sign of the patient or image datacaptured by the piece of medical equipment. Establishing the associationmay include linking the image data, vital sign of the particularpatient, or other forms of medical information with the medical recordof the particular patient. In particular, when the medical informationincludes video footage of the medical procedure, establishing theassociation may include storing the video footage in a video footagerepository and embedding in the medical record a link to the storedvideo footage. For example, the video repository may be a database, suchas database 411 described above. Various other repositories may be used,which may include a local memory device, such as data storage 413, acloud-based storage platform, a remote server, or the like.

In some embodiments, the disclosed embodiments may involve processingimage data and analyzing the processed data. Information determinedbased on the processed image may be used to establish the associationwith the medical record. For example, as described above, the medicalinformation may include image data of a procedure performed on thepatient. The disclosed methods may further include calculating at leastone convolution of the image data. The convolution may be a 2Dconvolution, a 3D convolution, etc. For example, the convolution mayinclude one or more image filters, such as low-pass filters, high-passfilters, band-pass filters, all-pass filters, and so forth. In otherexamples, the transformation function may comprise a nonlinear function.Other examples may include a Gaussian convolution, a median filter, arepresentation of at least part of the image data in a frequency domain,a Discrete Fourier Transform of at least part of the image data, aDiscrete Wavelet Transform of at least part of the image data, atime/frequency representation of at least part of the image data, arepresentation of at least part of the image data in a lower dimension,a lossy representation of at least part of the image data, a losslessrepresentation of at least part of the image data, a time ordered seriesof any of the above, or any combination of the above.

The disclosed embodiments may further involve determining informationbased on the calculated at least one convolution. For example, theprocessed image may enable additional information to be extractedrelative to the original unprocessed image For example, the processedimage may be used for analyzing image data using various methods andalgorithms described herein. In one example, the calculated at least oneconvolution may be used as an input to at least one of a trained machinelearning model, an artificial neural network, an artificial neuron, anon-linear function and an activation function, and the determinedinformation may include and/or be based on the corresponding output ofthe at least one of the trained machine learning model, the artificialneural network, the artificial neuron, the non-linear function and theactivation function. The disclosed methods may further include linkingthe determined information with the medical record of the particularpatient to establish the association, as described above.

The linked medical data may be used in various ways. hi someembodiments, the disclosed embodiments may further include outputtingdata based on the association. For example, this may includetransmitting or storing output data. The output may include any formatof electronic data indicating the association. In some embodiments, theoutput may include a link to the medical record or the stored capturedmedical information. In other embodiments, the output may include themedical record or captured medical information. Consistent with thepresent disclosure, outputting the data may include presenting a videofile to a user through a graphical user interface. Based on the look upoperations performed as described above, the system may be able toaccurately determine a patient, and therefore associated medicalprofessionals, who may be interested in the video footage. In someembodiments, the output may be used for scheduling purposes. Forexample, the output may indicate that a medical procedure has concludedand therefore the piece of medical equipment is available for use inother spaces, or that the space is available for other procedures.

As another example, the disclosed embodiments may further involvetransmitting patient-specific alerts based on information in the medicalrecord. The alerts may include any information associated with theparticular patient that may be determined based on the establishedassociation. The alert may be transmitted to the particular patient, afamily member of the particular patient, a representative of theparticular patient (e.g., a health care surrogate, an individual havingmedical power of attorney, etc.), a healthcare physician associated withthe particular patient, a medical organization (e.g., a clinical trialorganization, a research organization, etc.), an insurance company, themedical facility, or any other party that may be interested in theassociated data. The alert may indicate that the medical record has beenupdated, that the medical procedure has been performed, that the medicalprocedure as begun, the time or location of the medical procedure, thetype of equipment used, an identity of the equipment, information aboutthe captured medical information (e.g., a detected intraoperative event,a detected adverse event), a detected or predicted potentially harmfuldrug interaction, or any other information about the establishedassociation.

In some embodiments, the disclosed embodiments may involve analyzing themedical information in conjunction with the medical record of theparticular patient. In particular, the disclosed embodiments may involveretrieving information from the medical record of the particular patientand using the retrieved information to analyze the medical informationcaptured by the piece of equipment. The embodiments may then involveproviding information based on the analysis of the medical informationcaptured by the piece of equipment. For example, this may includedetermining whether a proper medical procedure was followed based on thepatient's medical information, such as the patient's diagnosis, healthcondition, gender, age, medications, preferences, or other informationthat may affect a proper procedure. As another example, this may includedetermining a progression of a disease for a patient. For example, themedical information may include the size of a tumor or growth measuredduring a medical procedure and the analysis may include comparing thecurrent measurements to past measurements for the tumor. Accordingly,the system may be configured to automatically assess a progression ofthe disease. While example analysis is provided above, various otherforms of analysis, including those described throughout the presentdisclosure may be performed to generate information.

In some embodiments, the information may be provided during the medicalprocedure. For example, this may include generating an alert ornotification for a physician performing the medical procedure, which mayinform the physician of a correct procedure to follow, an update to theprocedure, a recommended response to an adverse event, a recommendedmedical tool, a recommended medical technique, a recommendation to stopa medical procedure, a notification or reminder of an underlyingcondition or other health information of the patient, or various otherpatient-related information that may be useful to a physician during amedical procedure. The information may be provided at other stages ofthe medical procedure, such as after completion of the procedure. Forexample, the information may allow the physician to review events orportions of the procedure in reference to information associated withthe patient's medical record. Similarly, the information may be providedto nurses, technicians, support staff, medical facility administrators,or the like. In some embodiments, the information may be used togenerate a patient-specific alert as described in further detail above.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram illustrating an example process 2200 foraggregating and analyzing equipment, time, and space data to updatemedical records, consistent with disclosed embodiments. Process 2200 maybe performed by one or more processors, such as processors 412. In someembodiments, a non-transitory computer readable medium may containinstructions that when executed by a processor cause the processor toperform process 2200. Process 2200 is not necessarily limited to thesteps shown in FIG. 22 and any steps or processes of the variousembodiments described throughout the present disclosure may be includedin process 2200.

At step 2210, process 2200 may include receiving an ID of a piece ofequipment in a medical facility. As described above, the ID may includeany form of information that may be used to identify a particular pieceof equipment. For example, the ID may include a unique identifier and anidentifier of equipment type. The piece of equipment may include atleast one of a blood pressure monitor, a ventilator, an anesthesiadelivery machine, an oxygen concentrator, a sleep apnea machine, akidney dialysis machine, an infusion pump, an insulin pump, a bloodanalyzer, a respiratory monitoring machine, and a fluid managementsystem.

At step 2220, process 2200 may include receiving location informationfor the piece of equipment in the medical facility. In some embodiments,the location information may include image data captured by an imagesensor. Alternatively, or additionally, the location information may bereceived based on signals detected by at least one receiver, asdescribed above.

At step 2230, process 2200 may include receiving medical informationcaptured by the piece of equipment during a medical procedure. Forexample, the medical information captured by the piece of equipmentduring the medical procedure may include image data of a procedureperformed on the particular patient. As another example, the piece ofequipment may be configured to capture at least one vital sign, and thecaptured medical information may include at least one vital sign of theparticular patient. Various other example medical information isdescribed above.

At step 2240, process 2200 may include ascertaining a time ofinformation capture by the piece of equipment. For example, the medicalinformation captured by the piece of equipment may include timestampinformation indicating the time of capture. As another example, the timeof capture may be based on a time of receipt of the information.

At step 2250, process 2200 may include accessing at least one datarecord that associates scheduled medical procedures with locations ofmedical procedures and patient information. In some embodiments, thismay include accessing medical facility scheduling software assigningpatients to spaces at particular times. At step 2260, process 2200 mayinclude performing a look-up in the data record using at least thelocation information and the ascertained time to determine an identityof a particular patient assigned to a location associated with thelocation information. For example, the patient may be scheduled toundergo a medical procedure in a room or other space associated with thelocation information at the time of capture.

At step 2270, process 2200 may include accessing a medical record datastructure. For example, the medical record data structure may be adatabase associating patient names with one or more medical records.Various other example data structures are described above. At step 2280,process 2200 may include performing a lookup in the medical record datastructure using the identity of the particular patient to identify amedical record of the particular patient. In some embodiments, theidentity of the particular patient may include an anonymized patient ID.Accordingly, performing a lookup in the medical record data structure toidentify a medical record of the particular patient may include usingthe anonymized ID to locate the medical record of the particularpatient.

At step 2290, process 2200 may include establishing an associationbetween the medical information captured by the piece of equipment andat least some information in the medical record of the particularpatient. This may enable access to the medical information captured bythe piece of equipment through access to the medical record of theparticular patient. For example, establishing the association betweenthe medical information and the medical record may include recording orstoring vital signs, image data (e.g., images, video footage, etc.), orother information in the medical record. In some embodiments,establishing the association may include embedding a link in the medicalrecord to connect to the medical information from another data source.

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to systems, computer readablemedia, and methods for assigning surgical teams to prospective surgicalprocedures. Aspects of the disclosure involve using artificialintelligence and computer image analysis to determine requirementsassociated with a prospective surgery, determining whether a particularsurgeon meets the requirements associated with the prospective surgery,and outputting an indication that the particular surgeon meets therequirements.

Proper operating room scheduling is fraught with difficulties. Asidefrom the logistics of efficiently using space, surgeons need to beefficiently used and skill sets of surgeons need to be appropriatelymatched with the needs of certain patients and expected complicationsbased on patient profile data. A change in one parameter can have acascading effect on an entire schedule, making efficient humanmanipulation very difficult. Conventional methods for schedulingsurgical teams may be limited in access to data. For example, ascheduler may have no or little access to data beyond the scheduler'spersonal knowledge or experience, and even then, balancing the myriad offactors across a myriad of teams scheduled to be in various operatingrooms at overlapping times may pose difficult challenges unsolvable withconventional technology.

Therefore, there is a need for unconventional approaches to assist inscheduling surgeries and surgical teams by using data made available asa result of computer image analysis using machine learning techniques.These unconventional approaches allow data driven decisions in assigningsurgical teams, such as ensuring that residents obtain appropriateexposure to training opportunities or other requirements to completetheir residency, or by ensuring the most skilled surgeons are assignedthe most complicated patients, or that more efficient surgeons areassigned to procedures when time is of the essence. The system mayautomate the assignment of surgical teams. In another concept,preparation materials such as links to videos of similar surgeries forreview may be provided according to a schedule for a surgeon.

Aspects of this disclosure may relate to using machine learning-enabledvideo processing analysis of video feeds to facilitate assignment ofsurgical teams to prospective surgeries. For example, some of thedisclosed embodiments provide solutions for assigning and schedulingsurgeons to prospective surgeries based on characteristics ofprospective surgeries and characteristics of surgical teams determinedby analyzing video frames of prior surgical procedures. Some disclosedembodiments provide solutions for assisting a scheduler to assignsurgical teams by determining a level of skill of a particular surgeon,an expected amount of time for the particular surgeon to perform theprospective surgery, requirements for the prospective surgery, andwhether the particular surgeon meets the requirements.

Aspects of this disclosure may relate to assigning surgical teams toprospective surgeries. A surgical team, in its broadest sense, mayinclude one or more surgeons, and may also include one or more medicalassistants such as nurses, technicians, or other physicians or supportstaff who may be involved in a surgical procedure. Assigning a surgicalteam may include selecting or scheduling one or more individuals toperform prospective surgeries or aid a user such as a scheduler inperforming the same. Assigning surgical teams or individual members of asurgical team to prospective surgeries may involve publishing a scheduleor otherwise notifying a surgical team or individual surgical teammember of an assignment to a prospective surgery, providing instructionand/or information to a system that facilitate scheduling, such as acalendar. A prospective surgery may refer to a future or potentialsurgical procedure, as defined herein.

According to disclosed embodiments, a skill level may be ascertained. Asused herein, skill level may refer to any indication or measure of anindividual surgeon's relative abilities. In some embodiments, the skilllevel may include a score reflecting the surgeon's experience orproficiency in performing a surgical procedure or specific techniqueswithin a surgical procedure. Skill level may be based on pastperformances of the surgeon, a type and/or level of training oreducation of the surgeon, a number of surgeries the surgeon hasperformed, types of surgeries surgeon has performed, qualifications ofthe surgeon, a level of experience of the surgeon, ratings of thesurgeon from patients or other healthcare professionals, past surgicaloutcomes, past surgical complications, adherence to safety practices, orany other information relevant to assessing the skill level of ahealthcare professional.

In some embodiments, the skill level may be a global skill levelassigned to each surgeon or may be in reference to specific events. Forexample, a surgeon may have a first skill level with regard to a firsttechnique or procedure and may have a second skill level with regard toa different technique or procedure. The skill level of the surgeon mayalso vary throughout an event, technique and/or procedure. For example,a surgeon may act at a first skill level within a first portion or phaseof a procedure but may act at a second skill level at a second portionor phase of the same procedure. Accordingly, the skill level may be askill level associated with a particular intraoperative event, portion,or stage of a procedure. A skill level also may be a plurality ofsub-skill levels during an event or may be an aggregation of theplurality of sub-skill levels during the event, such as an averagevalue, a rolling average, a median, a mode, or other forms ofaggregation. A skill level may further refer to a general required skilllevel for performing a surgical procedure, a phase of a surgicalprocedure, and/or an intraoperative surgical event. A skill level may beexpressed in various ways, including on a numerical scale (e.g., 1-10,1-100, etc.), as a percentage, on a scale of text-based indicators(e.g., “highly skilled,” “moderately skilled,” “unskilled,” etc.), orany other suitable or desired format for expressing the skill of asurgeon. While the skill level is described herein as the skill level ofa surgeon, in some embodiments the skill level may be associated with asurgical team or another individual healthcare professional, such as asurgical technician, a nurse, a physician's assistant, ananesthesiologist, a doctor, or any other healthcare professionalparticipating in a procedure.

Some embodiments may include analyzing a plurality of video frames ofprior surgical procedures performed by a particular surgeon to ascertaina skill level of the particular surgeon. A process of analyzing videoframes may be performed by a suitable machine-learning model such as animage recognition algorithm, as described herein. In variousembodiments, information obtained from stored historical data based onprior surgical procedures may be used to train the image recognitionalgorithm to assess aspects of surgical procedures by recognizing andcomparing specific intraoperative events, actions, timings, etc. base onaccessed frames of surgical footage, as described herein. In oneexample, the historical data may include a statistical model and/or amachine learning model based on an analysis of information and/or videofootage from historical surgical procedures (for example as describedherein), and the statistical model and/or the machine learning model maybe used to analyze video frames and identify deviations in the receivedvideo frames from a reference set of frames or images related to priorsurgical procedures. Such automated processing and assessment techniquesmay provide more accurate, efficient, and objective measures of surgicalcompetency of a surgeon, compared to manual assessment. For example,automated assessments may remove biases of human reviewers while alsobeing conducted more quickly without requiring a human reviewer to watchand analyze video of a surgical procedure that could last several hours.A skill level of the surgeon may be determined based on how well thesurgeon performs during the event, which may be based on timeliness,effectiveness, adherence to a preferred technique, a lack of injury oradverse effects, or any other indicator of skill that may be gleanedfrom analyzing the footage. In one example, one or more convolutions ofat least part of the plurality of video frames of prior surgicalprocedures performed by the particular surgeon may be calculated, andthe calculated one or more convolutions may be used to ascertain theskill level of the particular surgeon. For example, in response to firstcalculated values of the one or more convolutions, a first skill levelof the particular surgeon may be determined, and in response to secondcalculated values of the one or more convolutions, a second skill levelof the particular surgeon may be determined, the second skill level maydiffer from the first skill level.

As an example of analyzing using a machine learning model, a machinelearning model may take one or more video frames or preprocessed imagedata from the video frames as input and output information related tothe video frames, such as differences between the frames and referenceframes. The model may compare the received frames to expected surgicalevents from the stored data based on prior procedures. For example, themachine learning model may recognize a type of surgical procedure basedon the processed image data, and then compare the image data to anexpected list of events, timing, actions by the subject, etc. Based onthe comparison, deviations between the expected actions and the actualactions taken by the subject during the surgical procedure may beassessed and a skill level determined or updated. For example, specificdeviations may be identified, or a level of deviation for certainspecific events or event characteristics may be determined. As anotherexample, the actual timing or length of events may be compared withexpected times based on the type of surgical procedure or event. Invarious embodiments, such an event-based machine learning method may betrained using training examples. For example, a training example may bebased on historical data related to previous surgical procedures. Anevent-based machine learning model such as the type shown in FIG. 8A maybe used.

Some aspects of this disclosure may include accessing a data structurecontaining patient characteristics associated with the prior surgicalprocedures. The stored data may be in a data structure consistent withdisclosed embodiments, such as in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6.

Stored data may include any data derived directly or indirectly fromimages of previous surgical procedures. This data may include, forexample, patient characteristics, surgeon characteristics (e.g., a skilllevel), and/or surgical procedure characteristics (e.g., an identifierof a surgical procedure, an expected duration of a surgical procedure).Stored data may include correlations or other data describingstatistical relationships between historical intraoperative surgicalevents and historical outcomes. In some embodiments, a data structuremay include data relating to recommended actions, alternative courses ofaction, and/or other actions that may change a probability, likelihood,or confidence of a surgical outcome. For example, a data structure mayinclude information correlating a break from a surgical procedure withan improved outcome. Depending on implementation, a data structure mayinclude information correlating a skill level of a surgeon, a requestfor assistance from another surgeon, and outcomes. Similarly, a datastructure may store relationships between surgical events, actions(e.g., remedial actions), and outcomes. While a host of correlationmodels may be used for prediction as discussed throughout thisdisclosure, exemplary predictive models may include a statistical modelfit to historical image-related data (e.g., information relating toremedial actions) and outcomes; and a machine learning models trained topredict outcomes based on image-related data using training data basedon historical examples.

Accessing stored data may include accessing stored historical dataidentifying intraoperative events, associated outcomes, or a recommendedsequence of events. As used herein, an intraoperative event for thesurgical procedure (also referred to as a surgical event) may refer toan action that is performed as part of a surgical procedure, such as anaction performed by a surgeon, a surgical technician, a nurse, aphysician's assistant, an anesthesiologist, a doctor, any otherhealthcare professional, a surgical robot, and so forth. Theintraoperative surgical event may be a planned event, such as anincision, administration of a drug, usage of a surgical instrument, anexcision, a resection, a ligation, a graft, suturing, stitching, or anyother planned event associated with a surgical procedure or phase.Additionally or alternatively, an intraoperative event may also refer toan event occurring to an anatomical structure and/or to a medicalinstrument related to the surgical procedure, whether the event includesan action performed by a healthcare professional or not. One example ofsuch an intraoperative event may involve a change in a condition of ananatomical structure.

Some aspects of this disclosure may include accessing a data structurecontaining patient characteristics associated with the prior surgicalprocedures. Patient characteristics may include any informationdescribing a patient that may be used to characterize a patient.Examples include but are not limited to, age, weight, size, gender,allergies, tolerance to anesthetics, preexisting conditions, priorsurgeries, various particulars of a patient (e.g., how many arteriesneed to be treated during the bypass surgery), anatomical particulars,or any other patient-related characteristics which may be taken intoaccount in connection with a surgical procedure.

In some embodiments, operations may include accessing a surgicalschedule including a plurality of prospective surgical proceduresoverlapping in time. A surgical schedule may include, for example, anagenda, plan or program associated with one or more surgical spaces suchas operating rooms or portions thereof. A surgical schedule in somesenses may include underlying data associated with an agenda, plan orprogram, and in other senses may also include the presentation of thatdata, through, for example, an interface. As described by way of examplebelow, schedule 2100 may include an interface for displaying a scheduledtime associated with completion of the ongoing surgical procedure, aswell as scheduled times for starting and finishing future surgicalprocedures. Schedule 2100 may be implemented using any suitable approach(e.g., as a standalone software application, as a website, as aspreadsheet, or any other suitable computer-based application or apaper-based document). An example schedule 2100 may include a list ofprocedures and list of starting and finishing times associated with aparticular procedure. Additionally or alternatively, schedule 2100 mayinclude a data structure configured to represent information related toa schedule of at least one operating room and/or related to a scheduleof at least one surgical procedure, such as a scheduled time associatedwith completion of the ongoing surgical procedure, as well as scheduledtimes for starting and finishing future surgical procedures.

Accessing may include reading or writing data associated with a schedulestored in a database or other data structure, as described herein. Asurgical schedule may include timing information associated with aprospective surgery, such as start time, finish time, expected length,and date of the prospective surgery. A surgical schedule may includelocation information such as a hospital, facility, floor, ward, specificoperating room, or a specific area within an operating room. A surgicalschedule may include personnel information such as primary surgeon(s),additional surgeon(s), alternate surgeon(s), anesthesiologists, nurses,surgical technicians, or other healthcare professionals. A surgicalschedule may include information relating to a plurality of surgerieswhich may overlap in time. For example, a surgical schedule may includea first surgery beginning at 8:00 AM in operating room 1, expected tolast four hours and a second surgery beginning at 9:00 AM in operatingroom 2, expected to last five hours. It is to be understood that asurgical schedule may be dynamic or static. Further, a user's experiencewith and access to the same surgical schedule may vary depending on theuser's role. For example, a scheduler may have access to a surgicalschedule in progress, while surgical team members only have access to acompleted surgical schedule.

FIG. 21 shows an example schedule 2100 that may include a listing ofprocedures such as procedures A-C (e.g., surgical procedures, or anyother suitable medical procedures that may be performed in an operatingroom for which schedule 2100 is used). For each procedure A-C, acorresponding starting and finishing times may be determined. Forexample, for a past procedure A, a starting time 2121A and a finishingtime 2121B may be the actual starting and finishing times. (Sinceprocedure A is completed, the schedule 2100 may be automatically updatedto reflect actual times). FIG. 21 shows that for a current procedure B,a starting time 2123A may be actual and a finishing time 2123B may beestimated (and recorded as an estimated time). Additionally, forprocedure C, that is scheduled to be performed in the future, a startingtime 2125A and a finishing time 2125B may be estimated and recorded. Itshould be noted that schedule 2100 is not limited to displaying and/orholding listings of procedures and starting/finishing times for theprocedures, but may include various other data associated with anexample surgical procedure. For example, schedule 2100 may be configuredto allow a user of schedule 2100 to interact with various elements ofschedule 2100 (for cases when schedule 2100 is represented by a computerbased interface such as a webpage, a software application, and/oranother interface). For example, a user may be allowed to click over orotherwise select areas 2113, 2115, or 2117 to obtain details forprocedures A, B or C respectively. Such details may include patientinformation (e.g., patient's name, age, medical history, etc.), surgicalprocedure information (e.g., a type of surgery, type of tools used forthe surgery, type of anesthesia used for the surgery, and/or othercharacteristics of a surgical procedure), and healthcare providerinformation (e.g., a name of a surgeon, a name of an anesthesiologist,an experience of the surgeon, a success rate of the surgeon, a surgeonrating based on surgical outcomes for the surgeon, and/or other datarelating to a surgeon). Some or all of the forgoing information mayalready appear in areas 2113, 2115, and 2117, without the need forfurther drill down.

Some embodiments may include obtaining patient characteristicsassociated with the prospective surgical procedures. As describedearlier in connection with patient characteristics of prior surgicalprocedures, the same or similar characteristics may be obtained in asimilar manner for prospective surgical procedures. A prospectivesurgical procedure is any surgery that has not yet occurred. Suchinformation may be obtained in response to an input via an interfaceassociated in some way with a surgical schedule represented by acomputer-based interface such as a webpage, a software application,and/or another interface. As discussed previously, the patientcharacteristics may include identifying information (e.g., patient'sname, age, medical history, etc.), surgical procedure information (e.g.,a type of surgery, type of tools used for the surgery, type ofanesthesia used for the surgery, and/or other characteristics of asurgical procedure), and/or healthcare provider information (e.g., aname of a surgeon, a name of an anesthesiologist, an experience of thesurgeon, a success rate of the surgeon, a surgeon rating based onsurgical outcomes for the surgeon, a surgeon skill level, and/or otherdata relating to a surgeon). Patient characteristics may be obtained byaccessing a database storing patient characteristics using a networkconnection. For example, FIG. 4 is a network diagram that may include acomputer system 410, a network 418, and a database 411 storing patientcharacteristics. Computer system 410 may access database 411 via network418 in order to obtain patient characteristics to be included in or usedto produce schedule 430. In another example, patient characteristics maybe obtained from an Electronic Medical Record software.

Some aspects of this disclosure may include analyzing a plurality ofvideo frames of prior surgical procedures to ascertain an expectedamount of time for a particular surgeon to perform at least oneparticular prospective surgical procedure from among a plurality ofprospective surgical procedures. The analysis of the plurality of videoframes of prior surgical procedures may involve any suitable statisticaldata analysis, such as determining an expected completion time valuebased on a probability distribution function, using Bayesianinterference, to determine how the probability distribution function isaffected by various patient/surgeon characteristics (e.g., an age of thepatient), linear regression, and/or other methods of quantifyingstatistical relationships. The analysis of the plurality of video framesof prior surgical may determine, calculate, or estimate an expectedamount of time for a particular surgeon to perform a particularprospective surgery using one or more artificial neural networks, asdiscussed herein. For example, an expected amount of time may be basedon the analysis of the plurality of video frames of prior surgicalprocedures and historical data describing prior surgical proceduresincluding the amount of time it took a particular surgeon to perform aparticular surgery. For instance, FIG. 20 shows an example graph 2003 ofpoints 2015 representing a distribution of completion time of aparticular surgical procedure (e.g., a bypass surgery) for patients ofdifferent ages. For example, a point 2015A shows that in a particularcase, for a patient of age A0, it took time T0 to complete the surgicalprocedure. Data for points 2015 may be used to construct a linearregression model 2017, and regression model 2017 may be used todetermine expected completion time T1 for a patient of age A1 accordingto point 2018 on the linear regression model. While graph 2003 shows thedependence of the completion time on one characteristic parameter of apatient (e.g., age of the patient), completion time may depend onmultiple characteristic parameters (e.g., the weight of a patient,characteristics of the healthcare professional conducting a surgicalprocedure, characteristics of an anesthesiologist, and other datadescribing a patient or procedure), as previously discussed, and points2015 may be plotted in a multi-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system,and regression model 2017 may include multivariate regression model. Inother examples, regression model 2017 may include a non-linearregression model.

In an example embodiment, determining an expected completion time may bebased on one or more stored characteristics associated with a healthcareprofessional conducting the ongoing surgical procedure. Suchcharacteristics may include age, a name, years of experience, alocation, of the healthcare professional, past performances, skill,and/or other information describing a healthcare professional, forexample, as described above. The characteristics may be stored using anysuitable data structure using any suitable electronic (or in some cases,paper) storage. In an example embodiment, the characteristics may bestored in a database (e.g., database 411, as shown in FIG. 4). Forinstance, based on an analysis of a historical data for a givenhealthcare professional for a given type of surgery, an expectedcompletion time may be estimated (e.g., the expected completion time maybe an average completion time determined from the historical data for agiven healthcare professional for a given type of surgery). Furthermore,using historic data for a given healthcare professional for a given typeof surgery other statistics may be determined (e.g., standard deviationfrom the expected completion time, correlation of the expectedcompletion time with other characteristics of a surgical procedure, suchas an age of a patient or a time of the day the surgery is performed,and/or other statistic generated from historic completion times).

Some embodiments include analyzing at least some of the plurality ofvideo frames to determine an intraoperative event therein. Analyzing thereceived video frames to determine an intraoperative event therein mayinvolve any form of electronic analysis using a computing device (i.e.,computer image analysis). The analysis may involve artificialintelligence applied to the video frames, such as through the use of anartificial neural network, as described herein. In analyzingintraoperative events, an expected amount of time for a prospectivesurgical procedure may be ascertained based on an aggregation ofestimates associated with an amount of time to perform variousintraoperative events.

Some embodiments may involve determining requirements for the at leastone particular prospective surgical procedure, the requirementsincluding a required skill level of a participating surgeon based on thepatient characteristics associated with the at least one particularprospective surgical procedure and an expected amount of time to performthe at least one particular prospective surgical procedure. A requiredskill level of a participating surgeon may refer to a minimal skilllevel required to perform an element of a prospective surgicalprocedure, such as an intraoperative event. A minimal skill level may bebased on patient characteristics, an expected amount of time to performthe prospective surgical procedure, the complexity of the prospectivesurgical procedure, a predicted probability of an intraoperative eventor a patient complication, a surgical technique corresponding to theprospective surgical procedure, a surgical task correspond to theprospective surgical procedure, or any other factor or data available.Where the required skill level varies dependent on multiple factors, theminimal skill level may correspond to the highest skill level requiredsuch that a surgeon will not be assigned to a surgery beyond his or herskill level (unless adequately supervised or assisted by an additionalsurgeon). This determination may be made using artificial intelligenceapplied to video frames, as discussed herein.

Some embodiments may involve determining whether the particular surgeonmeets the requirements of the at least one particular prospectivesurgical procedure based on the skill level of the particular surgeonand the expected amount of time for the particular surgeon to performthe at least one particular prospective surgical procedure. For example,the level of skill of a particular surgeon may be compared with thelevel of skill required for a particular prospective surgical procedureto ensure that the particular surgeon possess the minimal skill level toperform all of the elements of the prospective surgical procedure withinthe expected amount of time. The system may also determine theserequirements independently. For example, the system may determine that aparticular surgeon possesses the minimal skill level to perform theelements of the prospective surgical procedure but is unlikely tocomplete the surgical procedure within the allotted time. Thisdetermination may be made using artificial intelligence applied to videoframes, as discussed herein.

Some aspects of this disclosure may include outputting an indicator thatthe particular surgeon meets the requirements of the at least oneparticular prospective surgical procedure. An indicator may include anyvisual or audible signal that demonstrates or shows that a particularsurgeon meets the minimal requirements to perform a particularprospective surgical procedure. Outputting an indicator may includeoutputting code from at least one processor, wherein the code may beconfigured to cause the indicator to be presented. For example, asurgeon's name (or other text representing an individual surgeon orsurgical team) may be presented using an alternative font, color, orappearance when displayed on a graphical user interface used by a userto assign surgeons and surgical team members to a prospective surgicalprocedure. Additionally or alternatively, an indicator may be output byaltering the presentation of names of surgeons which do not meet therequirements or removing their names from the display. Another exampleof an indicator may be the inclusion of a surgeon's name (or other textrepresenting an individual surgeon or surgical team) in a dropdown listor other representation of individual surgeons or surgical teamsavailable to be assigned to a prospective surgical procedure.Conversely, in this example, omission of a surgeon's name (or other textrepresenting an individual surgeon or surgical team) from a dropdownlist or other representation of individual surgeons or surgical teamsavailable to be assigned to a prospective surgical procedure may be anindicator that the surgeon or surgical team does not meet therequirements of the particular prospective surgical procedure. In oneexample, an indicator may include any electronic signal that provideinstructions and/or information to an external system or software, suchas a scheduling software, a database, a display device, and so forth.

As another example, outputting may include causing a display of anidentity of the particular surgeon in association with the at least oneparticular prospective surgical procedure. A surgeon may be identifiedbased on his or her name, an identification number (e.g., employeenumber, medical registration number, etc.) or any other form ofidentity. The identity may be displayed by presenting a textual of anindividual surgeon, such as a name associated with the individualsurgeon. Additionally or alternatively, a pictorial or graphicalrepresentation may be displayed, such as a picture or an avatar.

Some embodiments may involve assigning a particular surgeon to at leastone particular prospective surgical procedure. Assigning may occurautomatically as part of an automated process or in response to a useraction. Assigning may include selecting, scheduling, notifying, orotherwise associating a particular surgical team or individual member ofa surgical team with a particular prospective surgical procedure.Additionally or alternatively, assigning may also involve changing,updating, canceling, adding, or otherwise altering a previousassignment. For example, a scheduler (e.g., a software module or aportion of code) may automatically assign a particular surgeon to aparticular prospective surgical procedure. Alternatively, an interfacemay provide a sub-set of appropriate surgeons for a procedure, enablingpresentation of a focused pick-list, such as through a graphical userinterface. If after an assignment of a surgeon to a particular surgicalprocedure the assigned surgeon better fits another surgical procedurescheduled for the same time (or the system undertakes an optimization tomaximize surgeon-procedure fit) an adjustment may be made to theschedule and the system may change the assignment of a particularsurgeon. For example, the particular surgeon may have a skill needed inanother overlapping surgical procedure. In such instances, the systemmay reassign the particular surgeon to the other procedure. In theprocess of doing so, the system may run scenarios on all surgeons in asurgical schedule to ensure that surgical assignments are optimized. Theassignments may be reflected or displayed in a schedule including aprospective surgical procedure and the assigned surgeon. In response tothe assignment, the particular surgeon's availability may be updated.

In some embodiments, the assigning of the particular surgeon may bebased on a training quota. A training quota may refer to a minimumnumber of surgical procedures of a particular type or intraoperativeevents of a particular category that a surgeon or trainee surgeon mustperform or observe in order to advance in schooling, obtain acertification, or be deemed proficient and able to perform the surgicalprocedure or intraoperative event without supervision. As an example, amedical student or resident may be required to perform an appendectomyunder supervision at least five times before being deemed proficient toperform an appendectomy without supervision. Surgeon characteristics, asdisclosed herein, may include historical data associated with anindividual surgeon such as prior surgical procedures performed and anumber of times the individual surgeon performed each surgicalprocedure. A training quota may be associated with a particular surgicalprocedure or intraoperative event such that when a surgeon needs to beassigned to a particular prospective surgical procedure, a surgeon whohas not yet reached a training quota may be assigned to the particularprospective surgical procedure in order to meet or fulfill a trainingquota. Additionally or alternatively, an indication of a training quota,an indication of an individual surgeon's progress towards a trainingquota, or an indication of whether an individual surgeon has met atraining quota associated with a particular prospective surgicalprocedure may be displayed for a scheduler when assigning a surgicalteam to a particular prospective surgical procedure. According todesired functionality, some embodiments may prioritize assigningsurgical teams based on a training quota. In situations where there is areassignment or a change in a surgical schedule, one of the factors thatthe system may take into account is a training quota. That is, beforereassigning a surgeon, the system may confirm in advance that theassociated training quota is satisfied.

In some embodiments, the assigning of the particular surgeon may bebased on an anticipated intraoperative event in the at least oneparticular prospective surgical procedure. A particular surgeon may beassigned to a particular prospective surgical procedure based on ananticipated intraoperative event such as an action, a planned event, ananatomical structure, or a medical instrument or device. For example,based on historical data of similar surgical procedures, an artificialneural network may analyze prior surgical footage to ascertainintraoperative events likely to be encountered in a prospective surgery.Similar computational analyses may be performed on surgical footage ofsurgeons available for assignment to a prospective surgery and theirskill levels ascertained through this computational analysis may becompared to the skill level required to perform the surgical procedure.The assignment may be based on an expected amount of time for aparticular surgeon to perform the anticipated surgical procedure, thedetermined skill level of the particular surgeon, and/or patientcharacteristics associated with the anticipated surgical procedure. Forexample, if a particular prospective surgical procedure is expected tobe of minor complexity based on past video frame analysis of similarsurgical procedures, a surgeon with a lower skill level may be selectedby the system.

In some embodiments, the assigning of the particular surgeon may bebased on an expected complexity level of the at least one particularprospective surgical procedure. Complexity level may be indicative of orassociated with the complexity of a surgical procedure or a portionthereof. Complexity level may be based on patient characteristics,surgical procedure characteristics, anticipated intraoperative events,additional surgical procedure characteristics, a comparison of asurgeon's skill level and a required skill level for a surgicalprocedure, an expected amount of time for a surgical procedure, and anyother condition or event that correlates to surgical complexity. Forexample, historical data may include an indication of a statisticalrelationship between particular patient characteristics and a particularsurgical complexity level. The statistical relationship may be anyinformation that may indicate some correlation between the particularsurgical complexity level and the patient characteristics. For example,when an overweight male patient over 65 years of age presents with highblood pressure and diabetes, the system may project a higher complexitylevel based on video analysis of prior procedures performed on similarpatients. The patient characteristics may statistically correlate to asurgical complexity level, and the system may therefore set as parameterfor the surgical assignment that a surgeon have a particular skill set.A particular surgeon may be determined to have that particular skill setusing an artificial neural network applied to surgical footageassociated with the particular surgeon. When changing an assignment of asurgeon, the same or similar analysis may be applied as when originallyassigning a surgeon to a surgical procedure. In some embodiments,assigning a particular surgeon may be further based on a schedule of theparticular surgeon. A particular surgeon's schedule may be manifestwithin an existing surgical schedule, a surgeon's personal schedule, anoverall hospital schedule for the surgeon or any other record of when asurgeon is available or unavailable to perform surgical procedures.These schedules, maintained electronically, may be inputs to the system,and may be accounted for in assigning a particular surgeon to aparticular surgery. Additionally, a schedule of a particular surgeon mayaccount for personal preferences of the particular surgeon, such as apreferred start or end time, a maximum expected amount of time toperform a prospective surgical procedure, or a minimum amount of timebetween surgical procedures.

In some embodiments, the assigning of a particular surgeon may be basedon requirements of additional surgeries in the plurality of prospectivesurgical procedures. For example, requirements of other surgeries in theschedule may have an impact on each surgery in the schedule, becauseresources (e.g., surgeons with particular skills, staff, space, andequipment) are often in limited supply. The system may take some or allof these variables into account when assigning a particular surgeon to asurgery. For example, a particular surgeon may be assigned to an earlierprospective surgical procedure having a shorter duration in order toallow the particular surgeon to have room in her schedule to handle asucceeding surgical procedure scheduled to begin immediately after theprocedure of shorter duration. In another example, a particular surgeonwith a first skill level may be assigned to a prospective surgicalprocedure requiring a first skill level in order to assign anothersurgeon with a second skill level to a different prospective surgicalprocedure occurring at the same time.

Disclosed embodiments may further involve determining an expected finishtime of the at least one particular prospective surgical procedure basedon the assigning of the particular surgeon. A schedule may include astart time and an expected finish time for a particular prospectivesurgical procedure. Based on analysis performed on surgical video orbased on surgical time records associated with prior procedures, thesystem may predict for a particular surgeon the amount of time it willtake to complete the surgery. Each surgeon's time may vary based onexperience level, patient characteristics, team members, and otherfactors that may correlate to the expected surgical duration. The systemmay perform this calculation in advance using artificial intelligenceapplied to past surgical procedures, and in this way predict an endingtime for a prospective surgical procedure. Thus, based on a selection ofa particular surgeon, the duration of the surgery, and its ending timemay be predicted. The ending time may then be used in scheduling thesurgeon and the operating space for succeeding procedures.

In some examples, changing an assignment of a particular surgeon may bebased on requirements associated with at least one other prospectivesurgical procedure of the plurality of prospective surgical procedures.This may allow an automated or manual scheduler to change an assignmentin response to new or updated information, such as requirementsassociated with a prospective surgical procedure. For example, aparticular surgeon with a particular skill level may be assigned to aparticular prospective surgical procedure, then the assignment may bechanged to another prospective surgical procedure with a differentrequired skill level because the particular surgeon is the only surgeonthat meets the required skill level. Such a change may occur as theresult of analysis in an artificial neural network of video framescaptured during prior surgical procedures, as discussed herein.

Some aspects of this disclosure may include suggesting an alternativesurgeon to be assigned to the at least one particular prospectivesurgical procedure. For example, as changes in a schedule cascade, thesystem may need to reassign one or more surgeons in in order to meetsystem constraints. In addition or alternatively, pick lists may beprovided by the system, and the pick list may be populated by more thanone surgeon who meets the criteria for handling a particular surgicalprocedure. The suggestions of alternative surgeons may occur afterperforming neural network analysis on video footage of the priorsurgeons and determining their suitability as serving as a suitablealternative. In some examples, multiple alternative surgeons may besuggested or recommended for the same particular prospective surgicalprocedure. The suggestion of an alternative surgeon to be assigned tothe at least one particular prospective surgical procedure may be basedon at least one of a training requirement, an anticipated intraoperativeevent in the at least one particular prospective surgical procedure, anexpected complexity level of the at least one particular prospectivesurgical procedure, and requirements of additional surgeries in theplurality of prospective surgical procedures, as disclosed herein. Thecriteria for selecting an alternative surgeon may vary from procedure toprocedure. For some procedures, training quota or skill level may be ahigher priority if the expected complexity level of the particularprospective surgical procedure is high. In another example, thealternative surgeon may be suggested based on a specialty or experienceof the alternative surgeon with an anticipated intraoperative event.

Some embodiments may include suggesting an additional surgeon to beassigned to the at least one particular prospective surgical procedure.For example, based on artificial neural network analysis of priorsimilar surgical procedures, it may be determined that a benefit may beachieved by have more than one surgeon participate in a surgicalprocedure. In such instances the system may automatically assign orsuggest the additional surgeon. In some examples, multiple additionalsurgeons may be suggested or recommended for the same particularprospective surgical procedure. The suggestion of an additional surgeonmay be based on at least one of a training requirement, an anticipatedintraoperative event in the at least one particular prospective surgicalprocedure, an expected complexity level of the at least one particularprospective surgical procedure, and requirements of additional surgeriesin the plurality of prospective surgical procedures, as disclosedherein. Suggesting an additional surgeon may decrease the expected timeto perform the prospective surgical procedure, provide supervision ortraining, decrease the complexity, or otherwise increase thecompatibility, as disclosed here. The additional surgeon may besuggested or recommended by outputting an indicator. The indicator maybe different or the same as an indicator that a particular surgeon meetsthe requirements of the at least one particular prospective surgicalprocedure.

Some embodiments may involve updating an expected finish time of the atleast one particular prospective surgical procedure based on thesuggested additional surgeon. With an additional surgeon added to theteam, the surgery may move more quickly, which may have an added benefitof freeing the operating room sooner. Using artificial intelligence orstatistical models applied to historical data of prior surgeriesperformed by each assigned surgeon working alone or the two assignedsurgeons working together, the system may predict a new finish time forthe surgical procedure. Alternatively, assigning an additional surgeonmay increase the expected amount to time, such as when one of theparticular surgeon or additional surgeon is assigned to the particularprospective surgical procedure based on a training requirement. Theprediction of the new ending time may be determined in a manner similarto the manner described above.

Some embodiments may include, based on the analyzing of the plurality ofvideo frames, determining a compatibility score for the particularsurgeon with the at least one particular prospective surgical procedure.Compatibility may relate to whether a particular surgeon may be preparedfor, qualified to perform, available to perform, and/or able tosuccessfully complete a particular prospective procedure. Acompatibility score may represent a degree of overall compatibility of aparticular surgeon with a particular prospective surgical procedurebased on the skill level of the particular surgeon, patientcharacteristics, patient preference, the expected amount of time for theparticular surgeon to perform the particular prospective surgicalprocedure, the requirements for the particular prospective surgicalprocedure, logistical considerations, and/or any other factor orcombination of factors influencing the compatibility between theparticular surgeon and the particular prospective surgical procedure. Acompatibility score may be expressed in various ways, including on anumerical scale (e.g., 1-10, 1-100, etc.), as a percentage, on a scaleof text-based indicators (e.g., “highly compatible,” “moderatelycompatible,” “incompatible,” etc.) or any other suitable or desiredformat for expressing the compatibility of a particular surgeon and aparticular prospective surgical procedure. The compatibility score maybe determined using artificial intelligence as applied to video framesof prior surgical procedures performed by an associated surgeon. Asdescribed herein, machine vision may assess various factors in the videoin order to arrive at the surgeon's compatibility with a particularsurgical procedure. While a compatibility score is described herein asthe compatibility score of a surgeon, in some embodiments thecompatibility score may be associated with another healthcareprofessional, such as a surgical technician, a nurse, a physician'sassistant, an anesthesiologist, a doctor, or any other healthcareprofessional participating in a procedure.

As alluded to above, in some embodiments, compatibility may bedetermined based on computer image analysis of the plurality of videoframes of prior surgical procedures. Computer image analysis may includeusing an artificial neural network model trained using example videoframes including previously identified surgical events to therebyidentify a similar surgical event in a set of frames, as describedherein. The computer image analysis may identify the skill level of theparticular surgeon, patient characteristics, the amount of time requiredto perform the previous surgical event, the requirements for theprevious surgical event, and any logistical considerations and determinea compatibility between a particular surgeon and one or more prospectivesurgical procedures by recognizing correlations or other statisticalrelationships between previously identified surgical events and theprospective surgical procedure. The computer image analysis may output acompatibility indicator, such as a compatibility score, representing theoverall compatibility of a particular surgeon and a particularprospective surgical procedure. In one example, at least one convolutionof at least a portion of the plurality of video frames of prior surgicalprocedures may be calculated, and the compatibility may be determinedbased on the calculated at least one convolution.

Some embodiments may involve analyzing video of additional surgeons,generating compatibility scores for the plurality of additionalsurgeons, and assigning the particular surgeon to the at least oneparticular prospective surgical procedure based on a comparison of thecompatibility score of the particular surgeon with the plurality ofcompatibility scores of the additional surgeons. Video associated withmultiple surgeons may be analyzed, as described herein. The analysis maygenerate a compatibility score to represent an overall compatibility ofeach surgeon and a particular prospective surgical procedure. Thecompatibility scores of the multiple surgeons for a particularprospective surgical procedure may be displayed or otherwise indicated.In some embodiments, the compatibility scores of the multiple surgeonsfor a particular prospective surgical procedure may be ranked. Based ona comparison of all the compatibility scores of the multiple surgeonsfor the particular prospective surgical procedure, a particular surgeonmay be assigned to the particular prospective surgical procedure. Forexample, the particular surgeon with the highest degree of compatibilitymay be assigned to the particular prospective surgical procedure. Thismay be done automatically through the application of an algorithm thatreceives each compatibility score of each available surgeon and selectsthe highest ranked available surgeon for a specific surgical procedure.The process may seek to optimize compatibility across multiple surgicalprocedures.

In some embodiments, assigning may be based on an analysis ofcompatibility of a particular surgeon with a plurality of prospectivesurgical procedures. The analysis may generate a compatibility score torepresent an overall compatibility of each prospective surgicalprocedure and the particular surgeon. The compatibility scores of themultiple prospective surgical procedures for a particular surgeon may bedisplayed or otherwise indicated. In some embodiments, the compatibilityscores of the multiple prospective surgical procedures for a particularsurgeon may be ranked. Based on a comparison of all the compatibilityscores of the multiple prospective surgical procedures for theparticular surgeon, the particular surgeon may be assigned to aparticular prospective surgical procedure. For example, the surgeon maybe assigned to the prospective surgical procedure with the highestdegree of compatibility. In one example, a compatibility function maycalculate a compatibility score of the particular surgeon and aparticular prospective surgical procedure based on information relatedto the particular surgeon and information related to the particularprospective surgical procedure. For example, the compatibility functionmay be learned by training a machine learning regression algorithm usingtraining examples. An example of such training example may includeinformation related to a first surgeon and information related to afirst surgical procedure, together with a label indicating a desiredcompatibility score for the first surgeon and the first surgicalprocedure.

Some embodiments may involve providing to the particular surgeon visualpreparation material for the at least one particular prospectivesurgical procedure. Visual preparation material may include a pluralityof video frames associated with the particular prospective surgicalprocedure. For example, the system may select video clips from priorsimilar surgical procedures, thereby providing the surgeon with apreview of what might be expected in the impeding surgery. These clipsmay include images from varying angles, images of varying techniques,and images of differing associated complications. The visual preparationmaterial may be provided to the particular surgeon via an output to adisplay device, such as a screen (e.g., an OLED, QLED LCD, plasma, CRT,DLPT, electronic paper, or similar display technology), a lightprojector (e.g., a movie projector, a slide projector), a 3D display,screen of a mobile device, electronic glasses, or any other form ofvisual and/or audio presentation. In other embodiments, outputting thevideo for display may include storing the video in a location that isaccessible by one or more other computing devices. Such storagelocations may include a local storage (such as a hard drive of flashmemory), a network location (such as a server or database), a cloudcomputing platform, or any other accessible storage location. The videomay be accessed from a separate computing device for display on theseparate computing device. In some embodiments, outputting the video mayinclude transmitting the video to an external device. For example,outputting the video for display may include transmitting the videothrough a network to a user device for playback on the user device.

Visual preparation material (such as images, video clips, etc.) may begenerated or determined by calculating at least one convolution, asdisclosed herein, of at least part of the plurality of video framesassociated with the particular prospective surgical procedure. Theconvolution may be used to generate or determine visual preparationmaterial associated with a particular prospective surgical procedure. Inone example, a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) may be trained usingtraining examples to generate visual material (such as images, videoclips, etc.), and the trained GAN may generate the visual preparationmaterial based on information related to the at least one particularprospective surgical procedure. An example of such training example mayinclude information related to a first particular prospective surgicalprocedure, together with a desired visual training material.

FIG. 23 is a block diagram illustrating an example process 2300 forassigning surgical teams to prospective surgeries. Process 2300 may beperformed by one or more processors that implement artificialintelligence functionality. In some embodiments, a non-transitorycomputer readable medium may contain instructions that when executed bya processor cause the processor to perform process 2300. Process 2300 isnot necessarily limited to the steps shown in FIG. 23 and any steps orprocesses of the various embodiments described throughout the presentdisclosure may be included in process 2300.

At step 2310, process 2300 may include analyzing a plurality of videoframes of prior surgical procedures performed by a particular surgeon toascertain a skill level of the particular surgeon. Video frames mayrefer to any video, group of video frames, or video footage includingrepresentations of prior surgical procedures associated with theparticular surgeon. Analyzing may involve artificial intelligenceapplied to the video frames, such as through the use of an artificialneural network, as described herein. A skill level of the particularsurgeon may indicate or measure the individual surgeon's relativeabilities.

At step 2320, process 2300 may include accessing a data structurecontaining patient characteristics associated with the prior surgicalprocedures. Accessing a data structure may include reading and/orwriting patient characteristics, such as age, gender, and medicalconsiderations to the data structure. At step 2330, process 2300 mayinclude accessing a surgical schedule including a plurality ofprospective surgical procedures overlapping in time. A surgical schedulemay include timing information, location information, personnelinformation, or any other details associated with a prospective surgery.At step 2340, process 2300 may include obtaining patient characteristicsassociated with the prospective surgical procedures, for example asdescribed above.

At step 2350, process 2300 may include analyzing the plurality of videoframes of prior surgical procedures to ascertain an expected amount oftime for the particular surgeon to perform at least one particularprospective surgical procedure from among the plurality of prospectivesurgical procedures. Analyzing the plurality of video frames of priorsurgical procedures may involve any suitable statistical data analysis,as disclosed herein.

At step 2360, process 2300 may include determining requirements for theat least one particular prospective surgical procedure. The requirementsmay include at least a required skill level of a participating surgeonbased on the patient characteristics associated with the at least oneparticular prospective surgical procedure and/or an expected amount oftime to perform the at least one particular prospective surgicalprocedure.

At step 2370, process 2300 may include determining whether theparticular surgeon meets the requirements of the at least one particularprospective surgical procedure. The determination may be based on theskill level of the particular surgeon and the expected amount of timefor the particular surgeon to perform the at least one particularprospective surgical procedure.

At step 2380, process 2300 may include outputting an indicator that theparticular surgeon meets the requirements of the at least one particularprospective surgical procedure. An indicator may include any visual oraudible signal that demonstrates or shows a user that a particularsurgeon meets the minimal requirements to perform a particularprospective surgical procedure.

Disclosed embodiments may include any one of the followingbullet-pointed features alone or in combination with one or more otherbullet-pointed features, whether implemented as a method, by at leastone processor, and/or stored as executable instructions onnon-transitory computer-readable media:

-   -   receiving a plurality of video frames from a plurality of        surgical videos of a plurality of surgical procedures performed        by a specific medical professional    -   wherein each surgical video is associated with a differing        patient    -   accessing a set of surgical event-related categories    -   wherein each surgical event-related category is denoted by a        differing category indicator    -   analyzing the received plurality of video frames of each        surgical video to identify a plurality of surgical events in        each of the plurality of surgical videos    -   wherein each of the identified plurality of surgical events in        each of the plurality of surgical videos is defined by a        differing subgroup of frames    -   assigning each differing subgroup of frames to one of the        surgical event-related categories to thereby interrelate        subgroups of frames from differing surgical procedures under an        associated common surgical event-related category    -   evaluating each subgroup of frames associated with each surgical        event-related category to derive at least one statistic        associated with each subgroup of frames    -   aggregating each statistic within each category of surgical        events    -   displaying the surgical event-related categories for selection        together with the aggregated statistic for each surgical        event-related category    -   receiving a selection of a particular surgical event-related        category    -   presenting at least part of the frames assigned to the        particular surgical event-related category    -   wherein presenting at least part of the frames assigned to the        particular surgical event-related category includes grouping        video frames from different surgical videos    -   wherein presenting includes a video playback of a particular        subgroup of frames associated with the selection, wherein the        particular subgroup of frames corresponds to at least one        associated surgical event    -   wherein the video playback of a particular subgroup of frames        includes frames from a plurality of differing surgical        procedures    -   receiving a plurality of additional surgical videos from a        plurality of surgical procedures performed by other medical        professionals    -   deriving from frames of the plurality of additional surgical        videos statistical data for the other medical professionals    -   presenting a statistical comparison of the specific medical        professional with the other medical professionals    -   wherein the grouping of video frames includes sequential sets of        video frames of surgical procedures on differing patients    -   wherein presenting includes a video playback of sequential        excerpts from the surgical procedures on differing patients    -   presenting in a common view patient-related data for a        particular patient, and a video player configured to playback        frames of surgical video associated with the particular patient.    -   wherein as frames associated with differing patients are        presented sequentially, the patient-related data in the common        view changes    -   wherein the category indicators denote intraoperative surgical        events    -   wherein the category indicators denote at least one of operative        milestones or intraoperative decisions    -   displaying graphic characterizing aspects within a category,        enabling selection of a particular aspect, and upon selection of        a particular aspect, identifying video frames associated with        the selected aspect for playback    -   displaying in a juxtaposed manner, statistics of the specific        medical professional and statistics of at least one of the other        medical professionals    -   providing an interface for permitting comparison of video frames        captured from the specific medical professional and the at least        one other medical professional    -   analyzing the plurality of video frames to determine an average        skill of a category of physicians    -   presenting an interface enabling the specific physician to        self-compare with the average skill    -   receiving a selection via a user interface of a category of        physicians for comparison    -   wherein the user interface is configured to permit selection        from a group consisting of at least two of a division, a        department, a hospital, a demographic, and literature    -   receiving patient-related personal information including at        least two of age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status,        marital status, geographic location, or preexisting medical        conditions; and during a time when the grouping of video frames        is presented, simultaneously display the patient-related        personal information    -   receiving a plurality of video frames from a surgical video feed    -   analyzing at least some of the plurality of video frames to        identify a surgical instrument therein    -   evaluating the plurality of video frames with the identified        surgical instrument therein to ascertain an interface area        corresponding to a location of an interaction between the        identified surgical instrument and tissue    -   accessing stored data characterizing a surgical plane        corresponding to the location of the interaction    -   using the stored data to determine whether the interface area is        outside of the surgical plane    -   outputting an out-of-surgical plane signal indicating a        deviation from the surgical plane by the surgical instrument    -   wherein the surgical plane is between two organs.    -   wherein the surgical plane is characterized by a curved area.    -   wherein the plurality of video frames of the video feed is        obtained from pre-stored video footage of the surgical        procedure.    -   wherein the video feed is a real time broadcast of the surgical        procedure.    -   wherein the operations are continuously repeated to continuously        monitor deviations from the surgical plane    -   wherein the operations are continuously repeated to ascertain        during the surgical procedure when the surgical instrument is        projected to deviate from the surgical plane    -   wherein the operations further include outputting a warning        signal before the surgical instrument deviates from the surgical        plane    -   wherein ascertaining includes tracking movement in the plurality        of surgical frames of the surgical instrument to define a        projected path of the surgical instrument    -   wherein outputting the warning signal occurs when the surgical        instrument is within a predetermined distance from the surgical        plane    -   wherein the warning signal includes instructions on how to avoid        deviation from the surgical plane    -   determining from the plurality of video frames a current step of        the surgical procedure    -   using the determined current step to identify the stored data        characterizing a surgical plane    -   wherein the stored data characterizing a surgical plane is        derived from at least one prior surgical procedure    -   wherein the stored data characterizing a surgical plane is        derived from a plurality of prior surgical procedures    -   wherein using the stored data to determine whether the interface        area is outside of the surgical plane includes applying        artificial intelligence to video frames of prior surgical        procedures and extrapolating the surgical plane therefrom    -   wherein the stored data characterizing the surgical plane        includes an indication of expected tissue colors corresponding        to the surgical plane    -   wherein the determination of whether the interface area is        outside of the surgical plane is based on the expected tissue        colors corresponding to the surgical plane and on color data of        one or more pixels corresponding to the interface area in at        least one of the plurality of video frames    -   wherein the determination of whether the interface area is        outside of the surgical plane is based on at least one        convolution of a plurality of pixels corresponding to the        interface area in at least one of the plurality of video frames    -   receiving a plurality of video frames from a surgical video feed        of an ongoing surgical procedure    -   accessing stored data based on prior surgical procedures    -   predicting, based on the plurality of video frames and the        stored data based on the prior surgical procedures, at least one        expected future event in the ongoing surgical procedure    -   generating for intra-surgical presentation, at least one option        to review at least one surgical video clip associated with the        expected future event in the surgical procedure    -   accessing a data structure containing the at least one surgical        video clip    -   outputting for intra-surgical presentation, the at least one        surgical video clip associated with the expected future event    -   wherein the surgical video clip includes selected portions of        the surgical video feed of the ongoing surgical procedure        captured before the generation of the at least one option    -   wherein the operations further comprise selecting the portions        of the surgical video feed based on the predicted at least one        expected future event in the ongoing surgical procedure    -   wherein the operations further comprise determining at least one        prerequisite of the predicted at least one expected future event        in the ongoing surgical procedure    -   wherein the selected portions of the surgical video feed of the        ongoing surgical procedure are configured to enable a surgeon to        verify the at least one prerequisite    -   wherein the at least one prerequisite is a plurality of        prerequisites    -   enabling the surgeon to select a prerequisite of the plurality        of prerequisites    -   causing a presentation of a portion of the surgical video feed        of the ongoing surgical procedure captured before the generation        of the at least one option and corresponding to the selected        prerequisite    -   wherein a first part of the selected portions of the surgical        video feed of the ongoing surgical procedure corresponds to a        first prerequisite of the predicted at least one expected future        event in the ongoing surgical procedure, a second part of the        selected portions of the surgical video feed of the ongoing        surgical procedure corresponds to a second prerequisite of the        predicted at least one expected future event in the ongoing        surgical procedure    -   causing a presentation of an indication of the first        prerequisite in conjunction with the intra-surgical presentation        of the first part of the selected portions    -   causing a presentation of an indication of the second        prerequisite in conjunction with the intra-surgical presentation        of the second part of the selected portions    -   receiving a signal indicative of an entering of a surgeon to the        ongoing surgical procedure    -   outputting for intra-surgical presentation at least part of the        surgical video feed of the ongoing surgical procedure in        response to the signal    -   wherein the at least part of the surgical video feed of the        ongoing surgical procedure is a visual summary of the ongoing        surgical procedure before the entering of the surgeon    -   receiving an indication of a user desire to review past        occurrences of the ongoing surgical procedure    -   outputting for intra-surgical presentation at least part of the        surgical video feed of the ongoing surgical procedure in        response to the received indication    -   wherein the at least part of the surgical video feed of the        ongoing surgical procedure is a visual summary of the ongoing        surgical procedure before the entering of the user    -   wherein the at least one future expected event is a        complication, and wherein outputting the at least one video clip        includes presenting at least one complication-avoiding video        clip demonstrating a surgical technique to avoid the        complication    -   wherein the at least one complication-avoiding video clip        includes a plurality of complication-avoiding video clips        demonstrating alternative surgical techniques to avoid the        complication    -   wherein the at least one future expected event is a        complication, and wherein the at least one surgical video clip        includes at least one misstep clip demonstrating at least one        action giving rise to the complication    -   wherein the operations further comprise triggering an        intra-surgical warning of a risk in an upcoming portion of the        ongoing surgical procedure, describing the risk, and presenting        an intra-surgical picklist of risk-reducing video clips for        review    -   wherein outputting for intra-surgical presentation includes        generating a composite video presentation including clips from a        plurality of prior surgical procedures    -   wherein the operations further comprise accessing information        characterizing a current patient undergoing the surgical        procedure and wherein the at least one surgical video clip is        selected to reflect video of at least one prior patient sharing        characteristics with the current patient    -   wherein the at least one future expected event is a wound        closure, and the at least one surgical video clip is configured        to enable a pre-closure surgical review    -   causing to be presented on a display additional options to        review additional surgical video related to the at least one        surgical video clip outputted for presentation following        outputting for intra-surgical presentation    -   receiving a plurality of video frames associated with at least        one surgical procedure    -   accessing stored data based on prior surgical procedures    -   processing, using the stored data, the plurality of video frames        to assess at least one of tissue handling, economy of motion,        depth perception and surgical procedure flow in the plurality of        video frames    -   based on the assessment of at least one of tissue handling,        economy of motion, depth perception and surgical procedure flow,        generating a competency-related score for a subject    -   selecting, from the plurality of video frames, at least one        video clip from which the competency score was derived    -   outputting at least one score    -   presenting in association with the at least one score, a link to        the at least one video clip    -   wherein presenting the link includes causing a display of a        window for playback of the at least one video clip    -   wherein presenting the link includes causing a display of        controls enabling selective playback of the at least one video        clip    -   wherein presenting the link includes presenting an activatable        icon in a graphical user interface    -   wherein the stored data based on prior surgical events includes        a machine learning model trained using a data set based on prior        surgical events    -   wherein the operations further comprise receiving audio signals        associated with the surgical procedure and to determine a level        of subject autonomy based at least in part on the audio signals    -   wherein the operations further comprise determining, at least in        part from the plurality of video frames, an identity of the        subject    -   wherein operations further comprise determining the identity of        the subject is based on at least one of user input, an        associated medical record, facial recognition, voice recognition        and an output of a personnel tracking system    -   wherein the at least one score includes a plurality of scores,        each of the plurality of scores being associated with a        differing skill    -   wherein the at least one video clip includes a plurality of        video clips, and where each video clip is associated with a        differing score    -   wherein the at least one score includes a composite score        assessing a plurality of scores    -   wherein the at least one surgical procedure includes a plurality        of surgical procedures    -   wherein the at least one video clip includes a plurality of        video clips    -   wherein during presenting the instructions are configured to        present at least one video clip capture date in association with        each of the plurality of video clips    -   wherein the operations further comprise updating a personnel        record of the subject with the at least one competency score    -   classifying a surgical procedure type associated with the at        least one video clip    -   presenting a control enabling a viewer to access other video        clips in which the subject is presented, sharing the surgical        procedure type    -   selecting a surgical team member for a prospective surgery based        on the competency-related score    -   providing a suggestion for additional training of the subject in        response to a first competency-related score    -   forgoing providing a suggestion for additional training of the        subject in response to a second competency-related score    -   causing the at least one competency score to populate an        evaluation form of the subject    -   calculating at least one convolution of at least part of at        least one of the plurality of video frames    -   using the stored data to analyze the calculated at least one        convolution    -   using the analysis of the calculated at least one convolution to        assess the at least one of tissue handling, economy of motion,        depth perception and surgical procedure flow in the plurality of        video frames    -   receiving an ID of a piece of equipment in a medical facility    -   receiving location information for the piece of equipment in the        medical facility    -   receiving medical information captured by the piece of equipment        during a medical procedure    -   ascertaining a time of information capture by the piece of        equipment    -   accessing at least one data record that associates scheduled        medical procedures with locations of medical procedures and        patient information    -   performing a look-up in the data record to determine an identity        of a particular patient assigned to a location associated with        the location information using at least the location information        and the ascertained time    -   accessing a medical record data structure    -   performing a lookup in the medical record data structure to        identify a medical record of the particular patient using the        identity of the particular patient    -   establishing an association between the medical information        captured by the piece of equipment and at least some information        in the medical record of the particular patient to thereby        enable access to the medical information captured by the piece        of equipment through access to the medical record of the        particular patient    -   wherein the piece of equipment includes at least one image        sensor,    -   wherein the location information includes image data captured by        the image sensor    -   processing the image data to determine an identity of a space        corresponding to the location    -   wherein the piece of equipment includes at least one transmitter        configured to transmit location signals to at least one receiver        associated with the location    -   wherein the location information received is based on the        signals detected by the at least one receiver    -   wherein the medical information captured by the piece of        equipment during the medical procedure includes image data of a        procedure performed on the particular patient    -   wherein establishing an association includes linking the image        data with the medical record of the particular patient    -   wherein the image data is video footage of the medical procedure    -   wherein the piece of equipment is configured to capture at least        one vital sign    -   wherein the captured medical information includes at least one        vital sign of the particular patient    -   wherein establishing an association includes linking the        captured at least one vital sign of the particular patient with        the medical record of the particular patient    -   wherein the piece of medical equipment is movable between spaces        in the medical facility    -   wherein accessing at least one data record that associates        scheduled medical procedures with locations of medical        procedures and patient information includes accessing medical        facility scheduling software assigning patients to spaces at        particular times    -   wherein the identity of the particular patient includes an        anonymized patient ID    -   wherein performing a lookup in the medical record data structure        to identify a medical record of the particular patient includes        using the anonymized ID to locate the medical record of the        particular patient    -   wherein establishing an association between the medical        information captured by the piece of medical equipment and at        least some information in the medical record of the particular        patient includes embedding a link in the medical record to        connect to the medical information from another data source    -   wherein establishing an association between the medical        information captured by the piece of medical equipment and at        least some information in the medical record of the particular        patient includes storing at least part of the image data in the        medical record    -   wherein establishing an association between the medical        information captured by the piece of medical equipment and at        least some information in the medical record includes storing        the video footage in a video footage repository and embedding in        the medical record a link to the stored video footage    -   outputting data based on the association    -   transmitting patient-specific alerts based on information in the        medical record    -   wherein the ID of the piece of equipment includes at least one        of a unique identifier, an identifier of equipment type and an        identifier of a version    -   wherein the piece of equipment includes at least one of a blood        pressure monitor, a ventilator, an anesthesia delivery machine,        an oxygen concentrator, a sleep apnea machine, a kidney dialysis        machine, an infusion pump, an insulin pump, a blood analyzer, a        respiratory monitoring machine, and a fluid management system    -   wherein the medical information captured by the piece of        equipment during the medical procedure includes image data of a        procedure performed on the particular patient    -   calculating at least one convolution of the image data    -   determining information based on the calculated at least one        convolution    -   linking the determined information with the medical record of        the particular patient to establish the association    -   retrieving information from the medical record of the particular        patient    -   using the retrieved information to analyze the medical        information captured by the piece of equipment    -   providing information based on the analysis of the medical        information captured by the piece of equipment    -   analyzing a plurality of video frames of prior surgical        procedures performed by a particular surgeon to ascertain a        skill level of the particular surgeon    -   accessing a data structure containing patient characteristics        associated with the prior surgical procedures    -   accessing a surgical schedule including a plurality of        prospective surgical procedures overlapping in time    -   obtaining patient characteristics associated with the        prospective surgical procedures    -   analyzing the plurality of video frames of prior surgical        procedures to ascertain an expected amount of time for the        particular surgeon to perform at least one particular        prospective surgical procedure from among the plurality of        prospective surgical procedures    -   determining requirements for the at least one particular        prospective surgical procedure, the requirements including a        required skill level of a participating surgeon based on the        patient characteristics associated with the at least one        particular prospective surgical procedure and an expected amount        of time to perform the at least one particular prospective        surgical procedure    -   determining whether the particular surgeon meets the        requirements of the at least one particular prospective surgical        procedure based on the skill level of the particular surgeon and        the expected amount of time for the particular surgeon to        perform the at least one particular prospective surgical        procedure    -   outputting an indicator that the particular surgeon meets the        requirements of the at least one particular prospective surgical        procedure    -   assigning the particular surgeon to the at least one particular        prospective surgical procedure    -   wherein the assigning of the particular surgeon is further based        on at least one of a training quota, an anticipated        intraoperative event in the at least one particular prospective        surgical procedure, an expected complexity level of the at least        one particular prospective surgical procedure, and requirements        of additional surgeries in the plurality of prospective surgical        procedures    -   changing the assignment of the particular surgeon based on        requirements associated with at least one other prospective        surgical procedure of the plurality of prospective surgical        procedures    -   wherein the change in assignment is based on at least one of a        training quota, an anticipated intraoperative event in at least        one of the plurality of prospective surgical procedures, an        expected complexity level of the at least one particular        prospective surgical procedure, and requirements of additional        surgeries in the plurality of prospective surgical procedures    -   suggesting an alternative surgeon to be assigned to the at least        one particular prospective surgical procedure    -   wherein the suggestion of an alternative surgeon to be assigned        to the at least one particular prospective surgical procedure is        based on at least one of a training requirement, an anticipated        intraoperative event in the at least one particular prospective        surgical procedure, an expected complexity level of the at least        one particular prospective surgical procedure, and requirements        of additional surgeries in the plurality of prospective surgical        procedures    -   suggesting an additional surgeon to be assigned to the at least        one particular prospective surgical procedure    -   wherein the suggestion of an additional surgeon is based on at        least one of a training requirement, an anticipated        intraoperative event in the at least one particular prospective        surgical procedure, an expected complexity level of the at least        one particular prospective surgical procedure, and requirements        of additional surgeries in the plurality of prospective surgical        procedures    -   assigning the particular surgeon to the at least one particular        prospective surgical procedure and determining an expected        finish time of the at least one particular prospective surgical        procedure based on the assigning of the particular surgeon    -   updating an expected finish time of the at least one particular        prospective surgical procedure based on the suggested additional        surgeon    -   determining a compatibility score for the particular surgeon        with the at least one particular prospective surgical procedure        based on the analyzing of the plurality of video frames    -   analyzing video of additional surgeons, generating compatibility        scores for the plurality of additional surgeons, and assigning        the particular surgeon to the at least one particular        prospective surgical procedure based on a comparison of the        compatibility score of the particular surgeon with the plurality        of compatibility scores of the additional surgeons    -   wherein assigning of the particular surgeon is further based on        a schedule of the particular surgeon    -   providing to the particular surgeon visual preparation material        for the at least one particular prospective surgical procedure    -   wherein outputting includes causing a display of an identity of        the particular surgeon in association with the at least one        particular prospective surgical procedure    -   assigning the particular surgeon to the at least one particular        prospective surgical procedure, and wherein the assigning is        based on an analysis of compatibility of the particular surgeon        with the plurality of prospective surgical procedures    -   wherein the compatibility is determined based on computer image        analysis of the plurality of video frames of prior surgical        procedures

Systems and methods disclosed herein involve unconventional improvementsover conventional approaches. Descriptions of the disclosed embodimentsare not exhaustive and are not limited to the precise forms orembodiments disclosed. Modifications and adaptations of the embodimentswill be apparent from consideration of the specification and practice ofthe disclosed embodiments. Additionally, the disclosed embodiments arenot limited to the examples discussed herein.

The foregoing description has been presented for purposes ofillustration. It is not exhaustive and is not limited to the preciseforms or embodiments disclosed. Modifications and adaptations of theembodiments will be apparent from consideration of the specification andpractice of the disclosed embodiments. For example, the describedimplementations include hardware and software, but systems and methodsconsistent with the present disclosure may be implemented as hardwarealone.

Computer programs based on the written description and methods of thisspecification are within the skill of a software developer. The variousfunctions, scripts, programs, or modules may be created using a varietyof programming techniques. For example, programs, scripts, functions,program sections or program modules may be designed in or by means oflanguages, including JAVASCRIPT, C, C++, JAVA, PHP, PYTHON, RUBY, PERL,BASH, or other programming or scripting languages. One or more of suchsoftware sections or modules may be integrated into a computer system,non-transitory computer readable media, or existing communicationssoftware. The programs, modules, or code may also be implemented orreplicated as firmware or circuit logic.

Moreover, while illustrative embodiments have been described herein, thescope may include any and all embodiments having equivalent elements,modifications, omissions, combinations (e.g., of aspects across variousembodiments), adaptations or alterations based on the presentdisclosure. The elements in the claims are to be interpreted broadlybased on the language employed in the claims and not limited to examplesdescribed in the present specification or during the prosecution of theapplication, which examples are to be construed as non-exclusive.Further, the steps of the disclosed methods may be modified in anymanner, including by reordering steps or inserting or deleting steps. Itis intended, therefore, that the specification and examples beconsidered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit beingindicated by the following claims and their full scope of equivalents.

1-120. (canceled)
 121. A non-transitory computer readable mediumincluding instruction that, when executed by at least one processor,aggregate and analyze equipment data, time data and space data, toupdate medical records, the operations comprising: receiving an ID of apiece of equipment in a medical facility; receiving location informationfor the piece of equipment in the medical facility; receiving medicalinformation captured by the piece of equipment during a medicalprocedure; ascertaining a time of information capture by the piece ofequipment; accessing at least one data record that associates scheduledmedical procedures with locations of medical procedures and patientinformation; using at least the location information and the ascertainedtime, performing a look-up in the data record to determine an identityof a particular patient assigned to a location associated with thelocation information; accessing a medical record data structure; usingthe identity of the particular patient, performing a lookup in themedical record data structure to identify a medical record of theparticular patient; and establishing an association between the medicalinformation captured by the piece of equipment and at least someinformation in the medical record of the particular patient to therebyenable access to the medical information captured by the piece ofequipment through access to the medical record of the particularpatient.
 122. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 121,wherein the piece of equipment includes at least one image sensor,wherein the location information includes image data captured by theimage sensor, and wherein the operations further comprise processing theimage data to determine an identity of a space corresponding to thelocation.
 123. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 121,wherein the piece of equipment includes at least one transmitterconfigured to transmit location signals to at least one receiverassociated with the location, and wherein the location informationreceived is based on the signals detected by the at least one receiver.124. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 121, whereinthe medical information captured by the piece of equipment during themedical procedure includes image data of a procedure performed on theparticular patient, and wherein establishing an association includeslinking the image data with the medical record of the particularpatient.
 125. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 124,wherein the image data is video footage of the medical procedure. 126.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 121, wherein thepiece of equipment is configured to capture at least one vital sign,wherein the captured medical information includes at least one vitalsign of the particular patient, and wherein establishing an associationincludes linking the captured at least one vital sign of the particularpatient with the medical record of the particular patient.
 127. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 121, wherein the pieceof medical equipment is movable between spaces in the medical facility.128. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 121, whereinaccessing at least one data record that associates scheduled medicalprocedures with locations of medical procedures and patient informationincludes accessing medical facility scheduling software assigningpatients to spaces at particular times.
 129. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 121, wherein the identity of the particularpatient includes an anonymized patient ID, and performing a lookup inthe medical record data structure to identify a medical record of theparticular patient includes using the anonymized ID to locate themedical record of the particular patient.
 130. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 121, wherein establishing anassociation between the medical information captured by the piece ofmedical equipment and at least some information in the medical record ofthe particular patient includes embedding a link in the medical recordto connect to the medical information from another data source.
 131. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 124, whereinestablishing an association between the medical information captured bythe piece of medical equipment and at least some information in themedical record of the particular patient includes storing at least partof the image data in the medical record.
 132. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 125, wherein establishing anassociation between the medical information captured by the piece ofmedical equipment and at least some information in the medical recordincludes storing the video footage in a video footage repository andembedding in the medical record a link to the stored video footage. 133.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 121, wherein theoperations further comprise outputting data based on the association.134. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 121, whereinthe operations further comprise transmitting patient-specific alertsbased on information in the medical record.
 135. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 121, wherein the ID of the piece ofequipment includes at least one of a unique identifier, an identifier ofequipment type and an identifier of a version.
 136. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 121, wherein the piece of equipmentincludes at least one of a blood pressure monitor, a ventilator, ananesthesia delivery machine, an oxygen concentrator, a sleep apneamachine, a kidney dialysis machine, an infusion pump, an insulin pump, ablood analyzer, a respiratory monitoring machine, and a fluid managementsystem.
 137. The non-transitory computer readabl8e medium of claim 121,wherein the medical information captured by the piece of equipmentduring the medical procedure includes image data of a procedureperformed on the particular patient, and the operations furthercomprise: calculating at least one convolution of the image data;determining information based on the calculated at least oneconvolution; and linking the determined information with the medicalrecord of the particular patient to establish the association.
 138. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 121, wherein theoperations further comprise: retrieving information from the medicalrecord of the particular patient; using the retrieved information toanalyze the medical information captured by the piece of equipment; andproviding information based on the analysis of the medical informationcaptured by the piece of equipment.
 139. A method for aggregating andanalyzing equipment data, time data and space data, to update medicalrecords, the method comprising: receiving an ID of a piece of equipmentin a medical facility; receiving location information for the piece ofequipment in the medical facility; receiving medical informationcaptured by the piece of equipment during a medical procedure;ascertaining a time of information capture by the piece of equipment;accessing at least one data record that associates scheduled medicalprocedures with locations of medical procedures and patient information;using at least the location information and the ascertained time,performing a look-up in the data record to determine an identity of aparticular patient assigned to a location associated with the locationinformation; accessing a medical record data structure; using theidentity of the particular patient, performing a lookup in the medicalrecord data structure to identify a medical record of the particularpatient; and establishing an association between the medical informationcaptured by the piece of equipment and at least some information in themedical record of the particular patient to thereby enable access to themedical information captured by the piece of equipment through access tothe medical record of the particular patient.
 140. A system foraggregating and analyzing equipment data, time data and space data, toupdate medical records, the system comprising: at least one processorconfigured to: receive an ID of a piece of equipment in a medicalfacility; receive location information for the piece of equipment in themedical facility; receive medical information captured by the piece ofequipment during a medical procedure; ascertain a time of informationcapture by the piece of equipment; access at least one data record thatassociates scheduled medical procedures with locations of medicalprocedures and patient information; use at least the locationinformation and the ascertained time to perform a look-up in the datarecord and thereby determine an identity of a particular patientassigned to a location associated with the location information; accessa medical record data structure; use the identity of the particularpatient to perform a lookup in the medical record data structure and tothereby identify a medical record of the particular patient; andestablish an association between the medical information captured by thepiece of equipment and at least some information in the medical recordof the particular patient to thereby enable access to the medicalinformation captured by the piece of equipment through access to themedical record of the particular patient.